The Crown of Louis XV who ruled as King of France from 1st September 1715 until his death on 10th May 1774 is one of the most magnificent crowns in the world.
It was made by Laurent Ronde who was the French Crown jeweler for the coronation of the king in 1722. The crown is part of the French Crown & Imperial Jewels which is an enormous collection of gemstones collected over decades by the Kings and Queens of France.
It was decorated with hundreds of precious diamonds and jewels including rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. In the front of the crown, mounted successively in the lower part of the fleur-de-lis was the famous Regent Diamond which was also on the crowns of Charles X and Napoleon III. Colorful gemstones are set on the four arches above the fleur-de-lis of the crown and also on the circlet.
On the top of the crown, there is a palatial fleur-de-lis formed of nine large diamonds including the pale yellow Sancy diamond. Other famous diamonds that can be seen on this crown are the Mazarian diamonds who belonged to the noted collector of jewels and art Cardinal Mazarian. He bequeathed these diamonds to Louis XIV in 1661 and when this new crown was made for Louis XV the diamonds were set in the circlet of the crown in the seven fleurs-de-lis.
The diamonds from the Crown Jewels of France were often removed throughout history, the same famous diamonds can be seen in various crowns and swords back to the Middle ages.
After the death of Louis XV, the crown was bequeathed to Saint Denis and the diamonds were replaced with crystals. According to various reports, the Crown Jewels were sold at auction in 1885 by the orders of the Third French Republic.
The jewels were spread across the world and only a handful of items were kept in the Louvre.
The crown of Louis XV is on permanent display at the Louvre as part of the remaining Crown Jewels of France along with the diadem of empress Eugenie, the diadem of the Duchess of Angouleme, and the set of Queen Marie Amélie.