Romanov and Russian Jewels

[Russophile]

Thomas Parkman, is this what you were referring to?
http://www.tristarmedia.com/bestofru...ges/crown2.jpg

And this one?
http://www.tristarmedia.com/bestofru...ges/jewl11.jpg

[sinulord]

Originally Posted by auntie

Gosh, and where is her lovely collection of bling blings today?

good question auntie.... my guess is that most might have been bequeathed to her daughters.... it would be very interesting to know the details of their whereabouts....

[shadowed_rain]

Many of the Romanov jewels are scattered everywhere...but I honestly can't ever remember hearing about where her jewels ended up. Does anyone have any idea? Hm, I just might have to research that...

On a different note, does anyone know what happened to the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna's magnificent (and huge!) collet necklace that she wore in many portraits? Or is it safe to assume it was lost to the Revolution?

[normalil]

Sadly Rain, I read that that necklace did not survive the revolution, its whereabouts unknown. I wonder if it will ever surface, or was it spirited away and broken up? It is the most magnificent necklace i have ever seen.

[qui mal y pense]

I think the large diamonds and crowns technically belonged to the 'State' and were kept in vaults by the 'State'. I don't think all were sold during the revolution. Some of the ROmanovs mentioned in the books they wrote after the revolution that there were so many fabulous jewels on the market at the time that their provenance was not considered important and most were broken up for their stones.

[magnik]

If they still are there.
About two years ago it was revealed that from Hermitage disappeard about 221 jewels belong to the tsars.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5249408.stm

Year ago it was revealed that from Russian museums dissapeard about 160 thousends items during 80 years.

[branchg]

A lot of the original treasury of imperial jewels housed in the Kremlin and St. Petersburg as state property was later stolen or sold in Soviet Russia. Most of the major pieces associated with the Crown survived, but the less well-known pieces were broken up and sold off by the Soviets for hard currency.

Some members of the imperial family who escaped the Revolution (notably Empress Marie, Grand Duchess Maria Pavolvna, Prince Felix Youssopov, Grand Duchess Marie, Duchess of Edinburgh) managed to keep a sizable collection of jewels in their possession. But without the huge incomes from their former lands and assets in Russia, most of these families sold off their jewels to provide money to their descendants.

[Odette]

Originally Posted by sinulord

Heres HI&RH The Princess Nicholas of Greece with her diamond fringe tiara.

Isn't this the tiara Princess Michael wears?

[jcbcode99]

Originally Posted by Odette

Isn't this the tiara Princess Michael wears?

Indeed, I believe it it. Princess Nicholas was the grandmother to Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent.

[Odette]

Similar tiaras to this are owned by all royal families that had either married into the Romanov families or imported their brides from the Romanovs....
They are delicate and timeless.........

[Russophile]

Originally Posted by Odette

They are delicate and timeless.........

And spendy!! What would Lloyd's of London insure them for?? How much would a tiara be worth today? Especially one of Romanov origin?

[branchg]

Originally Posted by Odette

Isn't this the tiara Princess Michael wears?

No, although the fringe tiara was an extremely popular jewelry design with many royal families and aristocrats.

Princess Michael's fringe tiara was a wedding gift to Princess Marina from the City of London when she married The Duke of Kent. None of Grand Duchess Marie's jewels are still in the Kent collection.

[Odette]

Originally Posted by Russophile

And spendy!! What would Lloyd's of London insure them for?? How much would a tiara be worth today? Especially one of Romanov origin?

The one thing for certain is that all and any Romanov jewels that come to auctions are being bought by Russian bidders and find their way back to their homeland.......at last!

[Odette]

Originally Posted by branchg

No, although the fringe tiara was an extremely popular jewelry design with many royal families and aristocrats.

Princess Michael's fringe tiara was a wedding gift to Princess Marina from the City of London when she married The Duke of Kent. None of Grand Duchess Marie's jewels are still in the Kent collection.

Did the Kents sell them or they never made their way to the Kents through Marina?

[Warren]

Fabergé's Eggs
The Extraordinary Story of the Masterpieces That Outlived an Empire
by Tony Faber
Pan Macmillan 324pp

an image of the book cover: Fabergé

"This is the story of Fabergé's Imperial Easter eggs - of their maker, of the tsars who commissioned them, of the middlemen who sold them and of the collectors who fell in love with them. It's a story of meticulous craftsmanship and unimaginable wealth, of lucky escapes and mysterious disappearances, and ultimately of greed, tragedy and devotion.

Of the fifty 'Tsar Imperial' eggs known to have been made, eight are currently unaccounted for, providing endless scope for speculation and forgeries. This is the first book to tell the complete history of the eggs, encompassing the love and opulence in which they were conceived, the war and revolution that scattered them, and the collectors who preserved them.

The uniquness of the eggs lies in the simple fact that their creator, Carl Gustavich Fabergé, strove to create eggs that were not only different but which expressed in some particular way, an event or occasion that had occurred in the previous 12 months. Thus the first egg, the 1885 Hen Egg, was a subtle way of reminding the Empress Marie Feodorovna of "a carefree past" during a period of terrorism and the 1900 Trans-Siberian Railway Egg commemorated Russia's rail link to its eastern frontier."

[Russophile]

They've remastered the technique of the enameling. I was in Vegas at the Faberge shop (Ceaser's palace, I believe) and they had marked eggs there. Granted, they were smaller, but Faberge none-the-less. (I held one while they pulled the steel gate down and put us in "lock down". Made me feel like a high roller! HA!)

[branchg]

Originally Posted by Odette

[/color]

Did the Kents sell them or they never made their way to the Kents through Marina?

I doubt any of Grand Duchess Helen's jewels inherited by Princess Marina stayed in her possession for long. Marina had serious financial problems for years after her husband's death and sold off a number of pieces to provide needed cash.

[Emeralds and Opals]

Dear Warren,

For the eight unaccounted eggs, are there any photographs or drawings of these missing eggs?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Emeralds and Opals

[Warren]

I'm no expert on Fabergé. I put the book review together with material from three different websites.

[Princess B]

the romanovs had probably the best jewellery collection

their tiaras/crowns are marvellous