Russian Imperial and Noble Jewels

[ally_cooper]

All the Romanovs jewels owns (belong) now to the Duke of Westminster? :o

[micas]

I belive not, Queen Mary buy many jewels. QEII still wear them a lot. But she can guive somes jewels.

[A.C.C.]

Originally posted by ally_cooper@Apr 16th, 2004 - 6:09 am
All the Romanovs jewels owns (belong) now to the Duke of Westminster? :o

Actually, The Duke and Duchess of Westminster only own 1 Russian tiara and probably a few other pieces. As was said, most of the Romanov jewels now belong to the British Royal Family. Queen Elizabeth II has tons of Russian jewels, due to the purchase of them by Queen Mary, Princess Anne has a few necklaces and chokers from the Romanovs. I also beleive the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester have some pieces.

[kelly9480]

Queen Elizabeth has more than a few jewels of Russian Imperial origin, but if you look at the auction photographs, you see very few of the tiaras are in the Windsors' possession (regardless of whether EIIR would have worn them, Mary certainly would have done so, and these tiaras weren't seen on her head). There's one photo with about 25-30 pieces of expensive jewellery, and few of them are with the Windsors now. Princess Mary received some Russian jewels, which were sold after her death.

But other wealthy families also bought jewels that had previously belonged to the Romanovs as well, including the second wife of a Duke of MArlborough.

I would say that a lot of the Romanov gems are in the UK and Europe, but not that the majority of them are in the Queen's hands. Some may have been dispersed through further auctions and sales so it's hard to know exactly how many there are, and exactly who bought them, though we do know that EIIR isn't in the habit of buying expensive jewellery.

[rypka]

I'm very interested in the a.m. auction photographs of which you are talking about. My information was, that after empress Maria Feodorovna's death, Queen Mary bought some of the jewels after MF heirs had shared their part. The jewels were sold very secretly by a lawyer (see the personal collection of EIIR). But it doesn't matter, - my interest are the imperial Romanov jewels, especially pics but also descriptions.

So i'm very glad to have found your contact and hope to get some more news

[brnbg68]

Originally Posted by reynard

Grand Duchess Elizabeth's tiara now owned by the Luxembourg RF

just a clarification....
this tiara's provenance does not include Elizaveta Feodorovna (aka: Ella).

this tiara made it's way into the Luxembourg grand ducal collection by way of the duchy of Nassau. in 1844, the grand duchess Elizaveta Mikhailovna of Russia married the duke Aldolf of Nassau. she died a year later after giving birth to a baby who also died.

she seems to have become a mere footnote in the history of both the Russian & the Luxembourg families. several people (including myself) have been trying, unsuccessfully, to find an image of her.... a photo, an engraving, a painting.... but so far, she remains elusive.

[Josefine]

is there a specifik style in russian jewllery

[Mia]

In general the jewellery design in Russia has followed the international art movements or periods. Of course, just like in any nation, there can be some typical ornaments, coloures or motifs which are used quite much.

On the end of the 19th Century there was somekind of national romantic movement in Russia. Therefore you can find sometimes items with polychrome enamelling and traditional ornaments. Even some of the Fabergé items, cigarette cases and kovshs are influenced by this "pan-slavic" movement.

[reynard]

I had the opportunity to view the exhibit of Nicholas and Alexandra's personal effects from the Alexander Palace. No jewels but a lot of very interesting "everyday" items. LOTS of photos, many taken by the Imperial family

[rchainho]

RUSSIAN CROWN JEWEL UNVEILED AT SOTHEBYS (cityfiles). there are more in that web for registed ppl.:(

[branchg]

Originally Posted by A.C.C.

Actually, The Duke and Duchess of Westminster only own 1 Russian tiara and probably a few other pieces. As was said, most of the Romanov jewels now belong to the British Royal Family. Queen Elizabeth II has tons of Russian jewels, due to the purchase of them by Queen Mary, Princess Anne has a few necklaces and chokers from the Romanovs. I also beleive the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester have some pieces.

The Westminster ducal family has a substantial collection of Russian jewels, although not necessarily Romanov jewels. Most of the Romanov jewels remained in Russia, although some were sold after the Revolution by Lenin to raise hard currency. The Dowager Empress Marie had the most substantial collection of all the imperial exiles, followed by Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna, grandmother to Grand Duchess Helen, the mother of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent.

While it's true Queen Mary acquired a number of pieces from both the Dowager Empress and Grand Duchess Marie, the majority of their jewels were auctioned off and ended up in the hands of wealthy Americans, including Barbara Hutton, Doris Duke and the Vanderbilts. Some of these pieces were broken up in subsequent sales (the stones are worth far more than the design) and reset by Cartier and Harry Winston for superwealthy clients.

[branchg]

Oops! Grand Duchess Marie is the MOTHER of Grand Duchess Helen and GRANDMOTHER to Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent.

[mandyy]

A model displays a diamond necklace from the collection of the Russian imperial family believed to have been made for Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia 1762-1796, at Sotheby's in Geneva, Switzerland November 9, 2005. The ornament is expected to fetch between $ 1,150,000 and 1,950,000 when auctioned off in Geneva on November 17. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

[sesa]

What I would give to not only SEE one of these historical pieces, but to actually be able to try it on!!!! WOW!!!
It may sound silly, but one of the main reasons I'm so interested in Royals is because of the history behind things like the jewels & the castles. I find it so amazing on how they were made, who they were made for, how long they have been able to survive things like the wars. It's all just amazing to me.

[lashinka2002]

Are there any pics out there of the Russian RF wearing thier jewels?It would be lovely to see.

[susan alicia]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4445714.stm

[bbb]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe....ap/index.html

diamond necklace believed to have been made for 18th century Russian empress Catherine the Great fetched over $1.5 million (euro1.3 million
good article about royal jewels at auction.

[princess olga]

What a thread! The Russian royals truly possessed the most beautifully designed jewelry, my gosh! My faves are the very first tiara; so delicate, so simple, so gorgeous!

And the just-auctioned necklace formerly belonging to Catherine the Great!

[qui mal y pense]

The Russian Nuptial Crown worn by Iperial brides was purchased by Marjorie Merriweather post and is on display at the Hilwood House Museum in Washington, DC.

[auntie]

Originally Posted by reynard

Marie

Does anyone know the stones on the neclace? they seem huge (I am reffering to post #3 on this thread, a pic of Empress Marie Feodrovna)