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The jewellery collection, containing over 6000 items is one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of jewellery in the world and includes works dating from Ancient Egypt to the present day, as well as jewellery designs on paper.

The museum owns pieces by renowned jewelers Cartier, Jean Schlumberger, Peter Carl Fabergé and Lalique.

Other items in the collection include diamond dress ornaments made for Catherine the Great, bracelet clasps once belonging to Marie Antoinette, and the Beauharnais emerald necklace presented by Napoleon to his adopted daughter Hortense de Beauharnais in 1806.

The museum also collects modern jewellery by designers such as Gerda Flockinger and Wendy Ramshaw, and African and Asian traditional jewellery.

Major bequests include Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend's collection of 154 gems bequeathed in 1869, Lady Cory's 1951 gift of major diamond jewellery from the 18th and 19th centuries, and jewellery scholar Dame Joan Evans ' 1977 gift of more than 800 jewels dating from the Middle Ages to the early 19th century.

A new jewellery gallery, funded by William and Judith Bollinger, opened on May 24, 2008.