The crown and the insignia of the Holy Roman Empire were kept at Nürnberg and were used only for coronation ceremonies. For all other occasions the emperors had to commission personal crowns, which (except for this one) have survived only in illustrations. This crown was originally the personal crown of emperor Rudolf II. It is one of the most important works of the European goldsmith's art. Luckily this personal crown was spared the fate of many other crowns and not broken up after the death of the emperor in 1612.