Businessman and billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed has given the British Monarch a rare but unusual gift in celebration of her 60-year reign.

At a dinner to commemorate the upcoming Diamond Jubilee, Al-Fayed personally presented Queen Elizabeth with an autographed replica of the world’s largest cubic zirconia.

The curious gift was offered in a small rectangular wooden box, with the object surrounded by chocolate mini-Fabergé eggs.

Sources close to Queen Elizabeth suggested that she was “perplexed” by the gift.

Al-Fayed and the Queen share a candid moment

Royal watcher and columnist Peter Smyth-Jones was quoted as saying, “There is a message in this, but I don’t know quite what it is.”

“Why a billionaire would buy Her Royal Highness a replica of a cubic zirconia, and not a real one, is something we as Brits may never understand,” he added.

As a tribute to the Queen’s favourite movie, Gondor style beacons have been lit across the globe at places such as Jamaica, Gibraltar, the Falklands Islands and Uganda. Prime Minister Julia Gillard successfully lit one of the beacons during stormy weather in Canberra earlier today.

The Diamond Jubilee will close with Queen Elizabeth lighting the final symbolic beacon at a concert where Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John are expected to perform the duet “Cruisin’”.