Lesser George; St George and the Dragon in diamonds, rubies and emeralds, St George's shield made from one large diamond. Surrounded by diamond-bordered open-backed garter with buckle, tab and motto, all in diamonds; large diamond in tab end; surmounted by diamond bow and diamond-set suspensioin-loop. The reverse is jewelled as the obverse. George IV's association with the Order of the Garter began remarkably early. He was invested at the age of 3 by his father George III on 26 December 1765 and installed at Windsor just before his ninth birthday on 25 July 1771. That he enjoyed everything to do with the Order - when Prince of Wales, Regent or King - may be safely inferred from his possession of no fewer than fifty-five jewelled or enamelled Garter badges. Among them was this spectacularly lavish example, made by the fashionable London jeweller Thomas Gray of No. 41 Sackville Street. When first supplied to the Prince in 1787, the badge cost £403 15s. 6d. Gray reset it the following year, adding a further substantial number of diamonds at a cost of £420, managing at the same time to maintain the attractive lightness and transparency of the setting. At this period Gray's firm stood high in the favour of the Prince of Wales; between 1786 and 1789 the Prince spent the colossal sum of £21,201 11s. 2d. with him, having only recently transferred his patronage from his father's jeweller, John Duval. On Gray's retirement around 1800, the Prince moved to Rundells, with whom he remained for the rest of his life. The central cluster of the ribbon tie may have been replaced by Garrards in 1858. Catalogue entry from Royal Treasures, A Golden Jubilee Celebration, London 2002