Britain From A to Z: J

Jewels

There are a number of countries around the world that place importance on jewels, in particular crown jewels. Usually they are of great value and have to be kept in a secure location. In some cases they are actually put on public display. That's assuming that the real jewels are the ones actually being displayed. As far as I know, they could use faux jewels for display. I wouldn't know any difference. While on our trip to Scotland, England, and Wales, I saw two collections of crown jewels: one in Scotland and one in England. According to Wikipedia, the original regalia of the Welsh princes have been lost.

The crown jewels of Scotland are located in one of the buildings associated with the Edinburgh Castle. I would show you a picture of them, but, hey, security did not allow commoners to take photos. However, they did sell photos of the jewels in the gift shop. That's kind of interesting isn't it. If they need money that bad, why don't they just sell some of those jewels on eBay. If they are not fake, like I suspect they may be, they should bring a pretty tidy sum. You can see a photo of some of the jewels on The Honours of Scotland Web site.

Fortunately, they did allow photos in the rooms before the one housing the jewels. Here's one I took.

In England, the crown jewels are located at the Tower of London in, you guessed it, London. Here, security was even more strict. Photo taking was not allowed anywhere in the building. So, I don't have anything to really show, except a photo of the outside of the building.

All those crowns, sceptres, orbs, rings, swords, etc. are kind of pretty, I guess. But they were just a little to blingy for my taste. I would much rather have the money they are worth than the jewels themselves. I don't know who could afford to buy them, but I think I would start with the Old Man, Rick, Corey, and Chumlee out in Vegas. They usually have a few million dollars laying around for those occasions when a surprising object is brought into their store. If they don't want them, I'd seek out Warren Buffett. Surely he would pay a pretty penny.

While we were in the UK, the royal family introduced a new jewel: Prince George of Cambridge. He was born on July 22 to Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. This was just a few days after we arrived in Scotland. The news of the birth was on all the TVs at the pubs where we ate. One day young George's neck will become strong enough for him to try on one of those fancy crowns. Perhaps he will come to agree with me that it would be best to trade it for money. But probably not. Those royal types tend to like their royal things.