Tsavorite-laden ring will join jewels once worn by Catherine the Great and Elizabeth I in V&A

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A ring owned by Beyoncé will be displayed alongside jewels previously worn by Elizabeth I, Catherine the Great and Empress Joséphine in one of the most spectacular jewellery collections in the world.

The V&A Museum announced on Friday that the singer had gifted her Papillon ring, which was a present from her husband, Jay-Z.

It was designed by the London-based jeweller Glenn Spiro in 2014 and is in the shape of a large butterfly poised to take off. It has titanium wings encrusted with green tsavorites, a highly fashionable gem discovered in 1967. They are said to be 1,000 times rarer than emeralds.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Papillon has titanium wings encrusted with green tsavorites. Photograph: V&A

The museum said it was delighted to receive the “stunning” ring. Its jewellery curator, Clare Phillips, said: “Beyoncé is a figure whose personal style the V&A is proud to represent and a gift from whose personal collection we are honoured to receive.

“The Papillon ring she has gifted is an exquisite example of contemporary jewellery design by one of Britain’s master jewellers.”

Spiro, who became an apprentice at Cartier when he was just 15, began producing jewellery under his own name when he launched his brand, G, in 2014. He operates from mirror-lined rooms in Mayfair that once belonged to the royal couturier Norman Hartnell.

The ring is one of a number of G pieces Beyoncé owns, mostly gifted by Jay-Z.

The V&A said the American singer was enthusiastic about museums and decided to donate the ring to one in Spiro’s home city.

The Papillon is on display in the William and Judith Bollinger jewellery gallery, which contains more than 3,000 jewels from the ancient Greek period to the present day.

There are pendants that were given by Elizabeth I to her courtiers; diamond jewellery made by Leopold Pfisterer for Catherine the Great and sold by the Bolsheviks after 1917; and an emerald and diamond necklace that Napoleon and Joséphine, his first wife, are believed to have given to their adopted daughter, Stéphanie de Beauharnais, for her arranged marriage to the heir of the Grand Duke of Baden in 1806.