Bermuda's copy of the British crown jewels is to be replaced this year to add some sparkle to the fading exhibition.

Government's Parks Department has commissioned a jeweller in London to come up with a new set for the display at Fort St. Catherine in St. George's.

Curator of Forts and Historic Sites Lance Furbert is fulfilling a promise he made to Princess Anne when she visited the Fort in 1999.

Mr. Furbert said he was so embarrassed by the tatty state of the popular display that he vowed to replace them.

Parks is paying a London jeweller more than $30,000 to come up with a new set of stones, and Mr. Furbert is hoping the exhibition will be improved with the addition of a new video explaining the role of the jewels.

He said the exhibition will close for around a week and he is hoping the new set will go on display by March 31 in time for the new cruise season. He said: "It's amazing that people still love them, because they look a bit cruddy.

"It was embarrassing when Princess Anne last came to the Fort and I made a decision then that we have to do something. I promised her that it would be changed.

"It's fairly old and its just getting a bit tatty. We've had trouble making it suitable for the public display so we've decided to bite the bullet and get a new set.

"They are not cheap, but given the popularity of it, we had to do it. The exhibition is still showing, but shortly we'll close it and take it down and put in new cases.'' A new set of jewels "And hopefully one thing with the new exhibition will be a video explaining the function of the different jewels.

"It's a very popular exhibit. When I first came to Fort St. Catherine my thought was to move it because I thought it had nothing to do with the fort, but I was told in no uncertain terms by members of the public not to touch that exhibition. The visitors are mainly Americans who have seen the crown jewels in London and want to see them again at a slower pace.

"It's amazing how many come just to see the crown jewels.''