Editing Catherine the Great (section)

=== Coronation (1762) ===
[[File:Екатерина на балконе.jpg|thumb|Catherine II on a balcony of the Winter Palace on {{OldStyleDate|9 July|1762|28 June}}, the day of the coup]]
Catherine was crowned at the [[Dormition Cathedral, Moscow|Assumption Cathedral]] in Moscow on 22 September 1762.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mikv1.narod.ru/text/OpisKor_RS93t80n12.htm |title=Coronation of the Empress Catherine II [Описание коронации, миропомазания и причащения императрицы Екатерины II-й] |publisher=Русская старина, 1893. – Т. 80. – № 12. – С. 487–496. – В ст.: Труворов А. Коронация императрицы Екатерины Второй – Сетевая версия – М. Вознесенский |year=2006 |access-date=11 March 2015 |archive-date=17 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017203233/http://mikv1.narod.ru/text/OpisKor_RS93t80n12.htm |url-status=live }}{{better source needed|date=November 2018}}</ref> Her coronation marks the creation of one of the main treasures of the Romanov dynasty, the [[Imperial Crown of Russia|Great Imperial Crown of Russia]], designed by Swiss-French court diamond jeweller [[Jérémie Pauzié]]. Inspired by [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] design, the crown was constructed of two half spheres, one gold and one silver, representing the Eastern and [[Western Roman Empire]]s, divided by a foliate garland and fastened with a low hoop.<ref name="The Russian Crown Jewels">{{cite web|url=http://famousdiamonds.tripod.com/russiancrownjewels.html|title=The Russian Crown Jewels|publisher=Famousdiamonds.tripod.com|access-date=11 June 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627113746/http://famousdiamonds.tripod.com/russiancrownjewels.html|archive-date=27 June 2014}}</ref>

The crown contains 75 pearls and 4,936 Indian diamonds forming laurel and oak leaves, the symbols of power and strength, and is surmounted by a [[Spinel of the Great Imperial Crown|398.62-carat ruby spinel]] and a diamond cross. The crown was produced in a record two months and weighed 2.3&nbsp;kg (5.1 lbs).<ref name="The Russian Crown Jewels"/> From 1762, the Great Imperial Crown was the coronation crown of all Romanov emperors until the monarchy's abolition in 1917. It is one of the main treasures of the Romanov dynasty and is now on display in the Moscow Kremlin [[Kremlin Armoury|Armoury Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://almazi.net/index.php?page=index&lang=eng |title=Diamond Fund Treasures |publisher=Almazi.net |access-date=11 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070726230229/http://almazi.net/index.php?page=index&lang=eng |archive-date=26 July 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>