The Lost Treasures of the Grand Duchess Vladimir, Part III

A silver cigarette case featuring the monogram of Ferdinand I, Tsar of Bulgaria, by Friedländer, Berlin, 1908-1917.

A miniature of Princess Elena and Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, Fabergé, by workmaster Michael Perchin, circa 1902.

The miniature of Princess Elena and Prince Nicholas shown on its gold and enamel Fabergé cigarette case, by workmaster Michael Perchin, circa 1902.

A silver case featuring Grand Duke Alexander and Grand Duchess Maria Fedorovna, by Gubkin, Moscow, 1867.

Gold, rock crystal, diamond and ruby cufflinks, with maker's marks AF, featuring the monogram of Grand Duke Alexander and Princess Dagmar of Denmark (the parents of Tsar Nikolai II), 1866.

A jeweled gilt silver and enamel cigarette case by Bolin, Moscow, 1899-1908.

Jewelled cufflinks, "Man in the Moon," featuring diamonds, gold and enamel, by Friederich Köchli, St. Petersburg, late 19th century.

Fabergé diamond, sapphire, and ruby cufflinks, commemorating the tenth wedding anniversary of Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Vladimir, by workmaster August Holmstrom.

Faberegé enamel and diamond cufflinks commemorating the twenty-third wedding anniversary of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Vladimir, by workmaster Michael Perchin, St. Petersburg, 1867.

Two pair of leather and silver cufflinks, 1869.

Gold, enamel, diamond and sapphire cufflinks featuring the monogram of Kaiser Wilhelm I, German, circa 1887.

The Lost Treasures of the Grand Duchess Vladimir, Part I

The big news story from a couple of years back was when the lost treasures of the Grand Duchess Vladimir, Maria Pavlovna the Older, and her husband, His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, the son of Tsar Alexander II and brother of Alexander III, were found in Stockholm. The Duchess had sent them to Sweden during the revolution, to protect some of her and her husband's assets, but after she died in 1920, the treasures seemed to have been forgotten. Several pillowcases with the Grand Duchess's handwriting were found, and inside of each was a treasure trove of cigarette cases, cufflinks, Faberge baubles and more. They were discovered in 2009 in a safe at the Swedish legation. They had been sent to Sweden in November 1918, the month Sweden broke diplomatic ties with the revolutionary government. They were auctioned off in 2009 by Sotheby's auction house. The money from the sale went to restoring the Grand Duchess's childhood home in Russia, and on a memorial for the Duchess.

These are just some of the treasures that I found most beautiful; I will post some more in subsequent posts. You can also view the auction results here.

A Faberge enamelled gold cigarette case, by workmaster Michael Perchin, St. Petersburg, circa 1890.

A Faberge gold cigarette case, by workmaster Michael Perchin, St. Petersburg, Circa 1890.

A Faberge Imperial enamel cigarette case with jewelry two-colored gold mounts, by workmaster Michael Perchin, St. Petersburg, 1899.

A Faberge silver cigarette case, Moscow, 1899-1908.

A Faberge nephrite cigarette case with jeweled two-color gold mounts, by workmaster Michael Perchin, St. Petersburg, circa 1890.

A Faberge silver cigarette case, by workmaster Michael Perchin, St. Petersburg, 1899-1903.

A Faberge wood cigarette case with silver-gilt mounts, by workmaster Michael Perchin, St. Petersburg, circa 1895.

A gold cigarette case by Samuel Arnd, St. Petersburg, 1876.

A jeweled silver and enamel cigarette case by Bolin, Moscow, 1899-1908.

A Bolin jeweled silver and enamel cigarette case, by workmaster Konstantin Linke, Moscow, 1899-1908.

A pair of gold cufflinks by Anton Michelson, Copenhagen, 1871.

A pair of jewelled gold cufflinks, circa 1880.

A pair of jeweled gold cufflinks, by Eduard Schramm, St. Petersburg, Late 19th century.

A pair of jeweled and enameled gold cufflink, by F.I.A. Freres, Paris, circa 1890.

Russian Imperial Jewels

A tiara of huge pear pearls and diamonds, belonging to Empress Alexandra Fedorovna, consort to the last tsar. It was made by court jeweler Bolin.

A diamond and pearl choker necklace of Grand Duchess Vladimir, made by Cartier.

An emerald and diamond necklace belonging to Grand Duchess Vladimir, aka Maria Pavlovna the Older.

Grand Duchess Vladimir's diamond and sapphire kokoshnik tiara.

Grand Duchess Vladimir's diamond waterfall tiara, made by Chaumet. The tiara's current whereabouts are unknown.

La Pelegrina pearl, belonging to the Yusupov clan.

The diamond sunburst tiara made by Chaumet, which was a wedding present to Princess Irina, wife of Prince Yusupov.

A diamond and emerald bandeau, which was a wedding gift to Princess Irina Yusupova.

The rock crystal and diamond tiara by Cartier, which was a wedding present to Princess Irina Yusupova from her mother, Grand Duchess Xenia.

A display of imperial jewelry in a window at Chaumet in Paris. They were wedding gifts to Princess Irina Yusupova.

A diamond and sapphire imperial Russian brooch belonging to the imperial family.

An emerald and diamond brooch belonging to the Russian imperial family.

The favorite diadem of Empress Maria Fedorovna of Russia, mother of the last tsar. It is made by Bolin. It was sold during the 1920's by the Soviet government, and has been in numerous hands through the years. It is reported to be currently in the collection of Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines.

Another view of the diadem. It was originally bought at auction in the 1920's by Gladys, Duchess of Marlborough, who sold it not long after her marriage to the Duke of Marlborough failed.

A diadem by Russian court jeweler Bolin, belonging to Empress Alexandra.

Another imperial Russian diadem made by Bolin.

An imperial Russian kokoshnik tiara by Bolin. It was later in the possession of Queen Marie of Rumania.

A beautiful imperial Russian diadem by Bolin.

An  Imperial Russian diadem by Bolin. It is currently in the collection of the Danish royal family.

The Imperial Russian nuptial crown by Bolin, which is at the Hillwood Museum in Washington, DC, and the diadem with a large pink diamond. It was worn by all imperial Russian Grand Duchesses on their wedding day.

The impressive diadem with a large, rare pink diamond.

A sketch for a large kokoshnik-style imperial Russian diadem.

The tiara made from the above sketch.

Colorful Tiaras

A complete gold and opal parure, consisting of a tiara comb, necklace, two bracelets, earrings and a brooch.

A tiara set with large, deep purple amethysts.

A diamond and amethyst tiara, laying atop it's own concept drawing. It is shown here as a necklace, but can be converted easily into a tiara.

A modern cut aquamarine and diamond tiara. This tiara is by Cartier, and it's interesting as Queen Elizabeth II has two dress clips by Cartier that perfectly match this design, although this tiara is not in Her Majesty's collection.

A diamond and ruby spinel comb.

A diamond and emerald tiara formerly belonging to the Countess of Rosse. The central element can be removed and worn as a brooch.

A pink topaz and diamond bow tiara.

A floral tiara of diamonds and flawless deep blue turquoises, which belonged to Princess Alice, The Duchess of Gloucester.

A tiara with 3 sparingly placed emeralds.

The beautiful emerald and diamond tiara of the Empress Eugenie of France, the last reigning  queen of that country.

The sapphire and diamond tiara of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, by the Russian jeweler Bolin.

A large gold tiara with paste emeralds and diamonds.

A modern and openwork design of silver and cabochon and baroque pink stones.

The Oriental Circlet of Queen Victoria. It originally contained opals, but when Alexandra, the Princess of Wales acceded to the throne and inherited this piece, she has the opals replaced with rubies, as opals are superstitiously bad luck when worn by women.

A petite diamond and sapphire circlet worn by a young Queen Victoria.

A diamond and spinel tiara in a very worked, complicated design.

A sapphire and diamond tiara, with scrolling fleur-de-lis designs.

A petite and delicate diamond and turquoise tiara.