Paris Exhibition Looks at Royal Power and Prestige Through Jewelry

By Annie Davidson Watson | December 16, 2025

Hôtel de la Marine, a museum in one of the original buildings on Place de la Concorde in Paris, is hosting a major exhibition, “Dynastic Jewels,” that illustrates how European royalty have used jewelry to project power and solidify their monarchal claims.

Curated by Emma Edwards of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)—one of Hôtel de la Marine’s partners, along with the Al Thani Collection, on the exhibit—“Dynastic Jewels” comprises more than 100 pieces owned by royalty between 1700 and 1950. About 60 objects are on loan from the V&A and being displayed in France for the first time.

The exhibition focuses on the political and cultural function of these precious assets. One section, dedicated to jewelry as a tool of authority, includes the diamond-encrusted dress ornaments once belonging to Catherine the Great, designed to overwhelm visually and thus assert her legitimacy. Equally critical are pieces commissioned by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, which established a new visual identity for the British monarchy. Queen Victoria’s sapphire coronet (pictured) and emerald tiara are displayed together for the first time in over 150 years.

Historic creations by major jewelry houses including Cartier, Chaumet, and Mellerio demonstrate the brands’ role in crafting the symbols of elite status. The exhibit also features rare, individually significant stones, such as the 57.31 ct. Star of Golconda diamond, highlighting the strategic importance of monumental gems in royal roles.

“Dynastic Jewels,” the final installment of a three-part collaboration between the V&A and the Al Thani Collection, serves as a definitive study of jewelry as a critical element of historical narrative across three centuries of European royal history. It opened last week and continues through April 6, 2026.

Top: Queen Victoria coronet (circa 1840), designed by Prince Albert and made by Kitching & Abud, in gold and silver with sapphires and diamonds (photo courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum)

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