Throughout time jewelery has been one of the most popular gifts to give. Queens, naturally, have traditionally been given the most extravagant jewels and jewelry as gifts. Because of that, for an item of jewelry to make a real impression on a queen, it has to be exceptionally special. For Queen Victoria, her blue 
sapphire and 
diamond brooch fit that description. The brooch was given to her by her beloved husband, Prince Albert, before their wedding. Queen Victoria wore the large oval brooch on her wedding dress, near her heart. During her long life, the brooch remained one of Queen Victoria's favorite and most prized pieces of jewelry.
It's not just queens who enjoy wearing spectacular art works made of jewels. Kings are no slouches when it comes to jewelry, just ask the Maharajah of Patiala, in India. The Maharajah brought his own trunk of perfect gemstones from India to Cartier in 1929 to make a necklace fit for a king. He had Cartier fashion the 2,930 diamonds, as well as several rubies, into a multi-strand masterpiece. Cartier was so proud of the necklace that they asked the Maharajah if they could display it in Paris before sending it to India. The necklace was later given to one of the Maharajah's sons, who like his father, wore it to ceremonial occasions.
Princess do pretty well when it comes to jewelry gifts too. One of the most beautiful and fashion forward princesses in history, Grace Kelly, was given a few exquisite pieces by her husband, Prince Rainier III of Monaco over the years. The Monegasque jeweler of choice was Cartier, which made Grace Kelly's 10-carat 
emerald cut diamond engagement ring as well as a three strand diamond necklace that the princess wore on special occasions. But Grace Kelly's favorite gift from Cartier was a small brooch shaped like a poodle and studded all over with diamonds.
While not royalty like Grace Kelly, another glamorous Hollywood actress, Elizabeth Taylor, had a jewelry collection as well known as that of any queen. Elizabeth Taylor's husbands gifted her many incredible jewels, including in 1969 a pearl necklace that had once set a slave free and adorned the necks of nobility across Europe. The La Peregrina necklace started as a quail egg sized pearl found by a slave in the 16th century. In return for finding the pearl, he was set free. It then traveled to Spain, where the King of Spain, Philip II gave it to his bride, Mary I of England as a wedding present. The pearl was worn by successive Spanish queens before eventually making its way to England, where it continued to adorn nobility until 1969 when it was sold at auction to Richard Burton, then Elizabeth Taylor's husband. The magnificent pearl was set into a diamond and 
ruby necklace for Elizabeth Taylor.
Sometimes the greatest jewelry gift are the ones given to charity, like the proceeds from the jewelry collection of billionaire Lily Safra. In 2012, Lily Safra decided to auction her extensive jewelry collection at Christie's to raise money for several charities. The auction, called "Jewels For Hope: The Collection of Mrs. Lily Safra,"" raised $35 million for over thirty different charities. Some of the most significant pieces in her awe inspiring collection included 18 pieces by famed reclusive Parisian jeweler JAR and a 32-carat ruby ring which sold for $6.7 million, a record for a ruby sold at auction."
One of the most famous jewelry gifts was actually given to an institution, not a person. The Hope Diamond, an incredible 45-carat blue diamond was discovered in the 1600s, and sold to the King of France. By 1949 it ended up in the collection of famed jeweler Harry Winston. Instead of selling it, Harry Winston decided to donate it to the Smithsonian Institute in 1958, so the public could enjoy its rarity and beauty. While most of us would personally deliver a diamond that rare into the hands of the curator at the Smithsonian, Harry Winston chose to simply send it in the mail. Today it remains in the Smithsonian collection, where it can be admired by all.
