Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1914-04-07
QUEEN MARY'S GEMS
Monarch Seldom Wears the
Superb Crown Jewels.
Keeps Keys Of Strong Rooms at Buck.
Insham Palace and Of Safes at
other PIaces-AIl Are
Fully Insured.

London.-On more than one occasion
queen Mary has been heard to con-
less that she shares Andrew Carnegie's
opinion that women are not at their
best when they load themselves with
Jewels. Her majesty. as rule, wears
comparatively few ornaments. al
though when occasion demands she
can rival any queen in Europe in the
splendor OF her gems. not even except
ing the czarina or the queen OF Spain.
It was computed when she was mar
ried that gems to the value of consid-
erably- over 100000 were presented
20 her majesty, and these, of course,
remain her personal property. Fur
thermore, King George has never per-
mltted one OF Queen Mary's birthdays
70 pass SINCE their marriage 20 years
ago without adding to her collection
Of Jewels.
Considerable additions have also
been made Of late years to her ma
1esty's jewels by Indian potentates
During the visit of the king and queen
10 India several rulers Of leading In
dian states were permitted to present
TO the queen jewels-principally pearls
of value that 1t is not easy to as
sess. Diamonds are . her majesty's
1aVorite gems, and she cares little for
colored stones, although she has some
exquisite emerald and ruby ornaments.
1t was characteristic of the business
like ways Of her majesty that when,
upon her marriage, she came into pos.
session Of the nucleus Of her present
wonderful collection of jewelry she
took the eminently sensible precaution
OF having it valued for its intrinsic
worth, and as soon as this valuation
was complete the collection was in.
sured for the amount. Since that time
other policies have been taken out
upon any additional Jewels, including
the crown jewels that have passed into
her keeping, SO that at the present
day. IL the whole collection or any
part OF 1t were lost or destroyed, a
sum sufficient to replace 1t would to
very large degree be forthcoming
The whole OF her majesty's jewels
are, as a rule, kept at Buckingham
palace In strong rooms specially de-
signed to the order of the late King
Edward shortly after he came to the
throne. Each of the shelves is lined
with white velvet and everything is so
arranged that whole sets OF Jewels,
orders, ETC., can be kept together, max
Ing 1t matter Of very little difficulty
to obtain precisely the Jewels that
the queen requires at the shortest
notice
Smaller safes, all of them of con.
siderable size, have lately been placed
at Windsor castle, Balmoral. and York
cottage for the safe keeping of any
jewels her majesty requires when
travelling about. The keys remain In
the queens possession and are only
handed to the lady in waiting on duty
when required. ~
The king, by the way. possesses
comparatively little jewelry and wears
next to none. He possesses some mag.
nificent scarf pins and rings, mainly
Of diamonds and pink pearls, and Il
would be difficult to say within dozen
or so how many watches his majesty
owns. He has also some jeweled
walking sticks, but the stick he favors
is, as rule, strong plain one, very
simply mounted, and would probably
be bought for q guinea or so in any
Weat end eata hliehmant