Modern version of Russia's Great Imperial Crown put on display in St. Peterburg

An imitation of Russia's Great Imperial Crown, which was originally made for the coronation of Ekaterina II the Great 250 years ago, is on display for public viewing at the International Jewellery Exhibition in St. Peterburg.

Since the original crown is on display at the Gokhran, Russia's state minerals repository, in Moscow, the public is not able to view it in large numbers.

Russian diamond manufacturers, Kristall Production Corporation and Smolenskye Brillianty Jewellery Group, produced the crown, setting it with Triple Excellent quality Russian diamonds.

Ekaterina II the Great's original crown was set with 4,926 diamonds, and topped off with a red spinel gemstone weighing 398.72 carats. The crown is said to have taken just two months to produce.

However, it took 60 craftsmen from Smolensk in excess of six months to make the imitation. They set 11,000 high-quality Ideal cut polished diamonds in the crown, which is made of white gold, and they used a red tourmaline to top off the crown. The cost of the gold, diamonds and tourmaline is estimated at more than $5 million.

The new version of the crown was timed to coincide with several anniversaries in 2013. These include Smolenskye Brillianty Jewellery Group's tenth year of operation, half a century of diamond cutting and polishing by Kristall, the 250th anniversary of the coronation of Empress Ekaterina II, and 400 years of the Romanov dynasty.