“The Crown Jewels” used to be a staple in my children’s shows. The one pictured here appears to be a later version. The jewels in the version I have are glitter-covered, not hologram.
I was very particular about the colours of the jewels as I began the routine with three separate silks in the holes in the crown – red, yellow and blue to match the missing jewels. These were in fact a Blendo silk. The same silk was then used with the tumbler. I too was dubious about the method, but that is what I used every single show, and it seemed to get the responses!
I have bought a brand new original of this (was lucky enough to find the glitter jewels in the colours I wanted), so now I have spare parts from the one I used to perform in the late ’80s. I am happy to say that the tumbler I picked up appears never to have been used – no scratches, and the silk supplied (always purple?) is still folded in its original state.
I wanted to replace my original card cover too as that had been battered with a lot of use over the years. I am sure if this item were to be produced today, the card would be laminated, or indeed made from a more substantial material. Surprisingly the edges of the original card are bare – so many of Supreme’s silk screened cards were edged with something similar to gaffer tape.
After the demise of Supreme Magic, Ian Adair released a version of this effect, but I always preferred the Supreme one – simple esthetics.
I was not aware of the “Royal Robbery” – for me the crown looks too complicated with so many jewels. Again I would choose the Supreme version for the
way the crown looks.
As has been pointed out by Andy, this effect could be topical once again. It would be an easy matter to replace the picture of the king with a caricature of King Charles III!
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