Stealing the Crown Jewels
In the era of 3D printing, rarefied objects are a myth
By David Cameron
The Imperial State Crown flaunts over 3,000 gems and is the prized item of the monarch’s Crown Jewels. With a history of failed attempts to steal the crown, it now sits in a two-inch thick glass case within a vaulted room at the Tower of London, heavily guarded by London Beefeaters. The current crown on display is not the original. Made in 1937, it is one of many versions that have been fabricated since the 15th century. But millions still come to visit each year, often queuing for hours to experience a fleeting glimpse of the jewels, shipped along a moving walkway past the collection. Visitors are forbidden to take photographs, and the only other opportunity to see the crown is offered by official photography and souvenirs. This display and experience of visiting it today is designed to make the Imperial State Crown inaccessible and rarefied.
With new technologies and the widespread distribution of photographs, however, the inaccessibility to the Crown Jewels may be somewhat of a myth. As a designer and maker, I decided to use some of these new technologies to find out how far out of reach this precious object really is. I’ve attempted to replicate the Imperial State Crown using 3D scanning tools and available documentation found online. This technology has enabled me to ‘steal’ the jewels from afar, without even visiting the Tower of London or encountering a London guard. I’ve produced a downloadable 3D model that anyone can view and use to create a 3D print.
To replicate the crown, I used photogrammetric 3D scanning, a process of reconstructing a physical form using digital images. This is a fairly straightforward process: the subject is photographed from several angles (more images will result in a more complete and detailed model), these photos are then processed using 3D scanning software to create a 3D model with photographic details mapped onto its surface. At this stage of the process, a digital version of the model can be exported to view and interact with, but it will require ‘fixing’ in more technically advanced software if it is to be used for 3D printing.
Without the ability to visit and photograph the crown in person, I have gathered a number of images found on the Internet to create a 3D model of this treasured object of national heritage. The crown is fairly well protected online, as well as in the Tower, and the only available materials are official photographs depicting the object from a front facing view. Using these images I have produced a fragment of the Imperial State Crown, and have released these files at the bottom of this post for you to download.
The 3D model I’ve produced is not a truly authentic replica of the crown jewels, but instead a representation of the original object (which itself is not the true original). The 3D print is made of plaster, ink and glue, which is far from the crown’s precious gems, metals and fabrics. This printed material has a different visual quality from the crown, with muted colors and a lack of vibrancy; the result is a pastel drawing of its original. The only true replica that 3D printing can achieve is a print of another 3D print.
But I’m interested in what photogrammetric scanning does capture, rather than what it fails to achieve. The limited size and detail of this model tell more of a story about the Crown Jewels than an official, geometrically accurate souvenir, because the single angle from which the crown is shot for official photos signifies how far this object is kept from the reach of the public. With open access to the Imperial State Crown I could take numerous images from every angle, close up and far away, to produce a more complete and detailed 3D model. But I can only ever produce a fragment.
While this project has failed to produce a replica, the process of using photographs to create 3D models of rare artefacts offers other utility, including educational applications, with new opportunities to share and record cultural heritage. The Smithsonian’s impressive Digitization Program Office is currently using photogrammetric 3D scanning (among other scanning techniques) to digitize their collection. The technology enables museums to create greater open access to a collection, bringing it out of the museum and onto a public online gallery. This extended outreach also enables schools and wider audiences to download, print and handle objects from the collection. 3D reproduction can also extend the display of a collection by sharing scanned versions of artefacts that cannot be shown in the museums, but instead often live in large storage spaces. Researchers can also take advantage of these tools to document sites or finds during field studies, scanning delicate objects without ever touching any precious materials.
For years, the Police Force in the UK have been documenting crime scenes with digital tools, Google glass has been used to capture public works of art, and there are many online galleries cataloging scanned models of people, objects and architecture. Photographs are a form of data collection used to create a digital representation of the world. But what does this mean for the authorship and ownership of this data? And how useful is this data?
There are arguably many owners of the Imperial State Crown 3D model — is it the makers of the original crown, the photographers who created the images found online, the creators of the 3D model made from found images, or those who possess a printed crown? These questions of ownership are not so easy to answer, and may provide a challenge for intellectual property law. As for what use this data may serve, you can download the model below and find out. If nothing else, you’ll have a conversation-starting curio.
Thank you to Sarah Pennington and Laura Potter for their insights, commentary and contribution to this article.
Photos by Souvid Datta
