The Cheapside Hoard: London's Lost Jewels , London - Courtesy of Museum of London

LONDON-  The Museum of London will open a major new exhibition investigating the secrets of the Cheapside Hoard. This extraordinary and priceless cache of late 16th and early 17th century jewels and gemstones – displayed in its entirety for the first time in over a century – was discovered in 1912, buried in a cellar on Cheapside in the City of London.

Through new research and state-of-the-art technology, the exhibition will showcase the wealth of insights the Hoard offers on Elizabethan and Jacobean London – as a centre of craftsmanship and conspicuous consumption, at the crossroads of the Old and New Worlds. It will also explore the mysteries that remain, lost among the cataclysmic events of the mid-17th century: who owned the Hoard, when and why was it hidden, and why was it never reclaimed?

A Colombian emerald watch. © Museum of London

Emerald Watch. Credit: Museum of London.

Emerald Carved Parrott. Credit: Museum of London.

Head of woman cameo. Credit: Museum of London.

Elizabeth I cameo. Credit: Museum of London.

Cleopatra Cameo. Credit: Museum of London.

Cameo Aesop's Fable Dog. Credit: Museum of London.

Byzantine Amethyst Cameo. Credit: Museum of London.

Grape pendant. Credit: Museum of London.

Moonstone Cameo Ring. Credit: Museum of London.

Pearl Cage Pendant. Credit: Museum of London.

Quartz Cat's Eye Carved Monkey. Credit: Museum of London.

Reliquary Locket. Credit: Museum of London.

Ruby and Diamond Bow Pendant. Credit: Museum of London.

Sapphire and Spinel Pendant. Credit: Museum of London.

Salamander Brooch. Credit: Museum of London.

Signed Gilt Watch. Credit: Museum of London.

Stafford Intaglio. Credit: Museum of London.

Cabochon Emerald Ring. Credit: Museum of London.

Reliquary cross of croisonne enamel: C16th - 17th. © Museum of London.

Elizabethan ring. © Museum of London.

Another piece from the 'Hoard' - a bloodstone carved strawberry leaf showing great attention to detail. © Museum of London.

Elizabethan rings. © Museum of London.