For a month this summer as part of the auction house's Platinum Jubilee celebrations for her late Majesty, Sotheby's London held a formidable exhibition of fifty tiaras. Entitled Power & Image, most of the pieces were European antique regal and aristocratic ornaments which had been handed down from generation to generation; some were unchanged from their original design, while others show how this most dreamy of jewels could be transformed into a necklace, a necklace and earrings, or modernised to fit with new styles.

Do you often not wonder what it is about a certain piece of jewellery that makes it a collectible? Is it its story, rich in heritage or is it the public figures that wear them? Whatever the case may be for you, French jewellery Maison, Van Cleef & Arpels and creators of the sought after Alhambra offer both in large quantity.