The Devonshire Parure was commissioned by the 6th Duke of Devonshire for Countess Granville, the wife of his nephew, to wear in Moscow at the coronation of Tsar Alexander II in 1856.
It consists of seven pieces of jewellery (including a bracelet, bandeau, comb, coronet, stomacher, necklace and diadem), all of which are set with a major part of the 2nd Duke of Devonshire's collection of gems.
Countess Granville would have selected which of the seven pieces of the parure to wear depending on the importance of the different occasions surrounding the coronation, and her hairstyle and dress would have been adapted to suit. All seven pieces would never have been worn together as the four separate head pieces could not have been combined.
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