Romanov and Russian Jewels

[maria-olivia]

I was told that at the Coronation of the Tsar Nicolas II , the Ambassadors were shocked by the overwhelming jewels of the Empress and the Grand Duchesses.
I think that they saw also how poor the Russians were that that time.

[Marsel]

I apologize if this has been discussed in this thread (or elsewhere) before.

A couple of weeks ago, I came across an interesting report about the fate of the Imperial Jewels that were hidden in Kremlin. The greater part of those jewels was later sort by the Communist Government, often for ridiculously low prices. Most of the buyers were from the US and Great Britain.

The article states that some of the most valuable and important pieces were discreetly bought by the British Royal Family, who understood their value and wanted to keep them ‘in the family’. The article was from a credible newspaper which isn't known for making (a lot of) things up.


I was wondering whether anyone could give more information on the subject.

[Russophile]

I'll see if I can't dig something up, Marsel. Don't forget that HM already inherited a Faberge and other lovely things through May and her buying up Xenia's stash.
Forbes got the motherlode of the Faberge's.

[Marsel]

Thank you, Russo!
I think the article meant the important, historical pieces (family tiaras, historical jewellery).

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi Marsel,

Many of the Dowager Empress' jewels were sold to the British royals and the proceeds given to GD's Xenia and Olga. But these were jewels taken out of Russia by the DE herself.

Some jewels and artifacts were sold to Marjorie Merriweather Post, who was the wife of the US Ambassador, Joseph Davies, to the Soviet Union during WWII.
Also, I have heard that Hollywood stars, Mary Pickford and Marion Davies, visited Russia in the 20's and bought some Romanov jewels; but where they would be now is unknown as these two ladies left no descendants.

Larry

[Al_bina]

Originally Posted by queenofthelight

...[snipped] http://i41.tinypic.com/24ovwwk.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/119av6x.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/iqg9jd.jpg
http://i40.tinypic.com/2n1343.jpg

The Faberge eggs are the testament to the great craftsmanship. Fine detailing and exquisite design are just breathtaking.

[Russophile]

Originally Posted by Marsel

Thank you, Russo!
I think the article meant the important, historical pieces (family tiaras, historical jewellery).

They still have some of them. See here
Famous Collections - Kremlin Diamonds -Dazzling Diamond Display

[qui mal y pense]

I find it very hard to believe that the BRF bought more Jewels than the ones we know of. The Czar and Czarina's collections were plundered when the palaces were looted and the rest when the family was murdered and most sources claim these jewels were sold for the value of the gold and jewels so that there is no way to trace them. The Vladimir Jewels, The Dowager Empress' jewels, GD Maria Pavlovna the Elder, Xenia and possibly some of the Youssoupov's escaped with their jewels but they all needed to sell them in order to live.
I doubt that the BRF bought more than we know about because she had the first pick of the Dowager Empress' pieces and she only took a few of them and the rest were sold to others. These pieces were the Dowager's best and favorite and the firsthand accounts describe them as dazzling. Princess Anne has a sapphire tiara acquired from this collection. Xenia was definitely cheated on the sale of her mother's jewels and it is possible that Queen Mary took other pieces that have never seen the light of day or that we see regularly but don't know the source of. but it seems unlikely that with all she had readily available she'd have gone looking for more to buy.

[daggie38]

I was named after Queen Dagmar of Denmark I was born in 1938 & my Uncle came to the U.S. at Baltimore Md. harbor. His name was Valdmar Blumquist of Denmark. He married my father's sister & named me Dagmar after Queen Dagmar of Denmark. Could you give me more info on the Queen & her spouse & family.

[Warren]

This is a jewels thread. Your question about a Danish Queen and family is better made in the Danish Forums.

[magnik]

It's big pity that we can't see these grand jewels on official royal events.

[maria-olivia]

They are huge pictures about Nicolas II's coronation where the overwelming jewelry of the 2 Queens and the Grand-Duchesses may be seen.

[Marsel]

An interesting book - "Hidden Treasures of the Romanovs: Saving the Royal Jewels", has recently been published in the US (it is to be released in Britain in September). It is about the Romanov Jewels and particularly about how the jewels of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna were saved from the Vladimir Palace. The author is William Clarke, who has previously written another book about the Imperial Jewels - "The Lost Fortune of the Tsars".

The book isn’t available in Russia (I pre-ordered it on Amazon), however I came across an interesting interview of the author to a Russian news agency.

You can read parts of the interview, as well as publisher's description of the book in this blog entry.
For Russian-speaking members, you can read the interview William Clarke gave here.

[Elly C]

I have posted two links in the Russian Imperial area to the current exhibition at the Grimaldi Centre in Monaco called The Splendours of the Romanovs. Amongst the many wonderful exhibits is a whole room devoted to jewellery & imperial commands as well as a room with ceremonial regalia for the coronation of the czars. There is also a beautifully illustrated catalogue of the exhibition available from Amazon translated into several languages. I really loved the exhibition & would thoroughly recommend it. You can get a flavour of it in the Euronews report which I'll post a link to here.
Euronews

[otma1918]

these jewels are really faboulus,i love the russian imperial family,everything about them

[Elly C]

Originally Posted by Marsel

Thanks for the information and link, Elly C!
I wish I could visit the exhibition - it looks so interesting.

I think there are plans to transfer the exhibition to Moscow later in the year. I'm sure I read that somewhere - will see if I can find out where I got this from.

[caya]

Hi, just a question about the romanov jewels, about which i didn't see any discussion: when the dowager impress left russia, I guess she brought with her some of her jewels and personal belongings as well, did she manage to keep them during the rest of her exile? and if so who inherited them?

As a former impress, was she invited to royal events like weddings and coronations, and if so do we have pictures of her at that time?

Thanks for your reply, and I hope this isn't an already discussed topic...

[Marsel]

Jewels that belonged to the Romanov family (mostly, to Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna and her family members) worth over 2 million Euroes were found in Sweden.
They include jewels by Fabergé and the Bolin family, court jewellers of several consecutive Russian Monarchs and three Swedish Kings.
To read more of the exiting finding, read this blog entry.

[jcbcode99]

How exciting! I must see more! This is such an important find and very exciting for us "joolies"

[EmpressRouge]

Originally Posted by Marsel

Jewels that belonged to the Romanov family (mostly, to Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna and her family members) worth over 2 million Euroes were found in Sweden.
They include jewels by Fabergé and the Bolin family, court jewellers of several consecutive Russian Monarchs and three Swedish Kings.
To read more of the exiting finding, read this blog entry.

This is Maria Pavlova the elder, wife of Grand Duke Vladimir? I ask because Maria Pavlova the younger had married into the Swedish royal family and was divorced around that time too.