However, she died soon afterwards and her jewels were inherited by her children. The Bolsheviks inherited an impressive legacy, and wasted little time in profiting from the sale of many pieces to eager buyers in the West during the 1920s. As Princess of Hesse, we see Alexandra wearing modest jewellery for studio photographs, more than several bracelets, a string of pearls and a half-moon in the hair, which appears on various occasions and was fashionable at the time the Viennese mistress of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, Baroness Mary Vetsera wore one for formal photographs. Finding photos of a young boy, identical to my son, Nicholas Seiler Grubb and locating the thieves of the jewels . "It couldn't have been more glamorous, it was truly the time of New York caf society and they were probably at [Broadway restaurant] Sardi's and [legendary nightclub] El Morocco, and the theatre six nights a week. What happened to these priceless Romanov tiaras after 1917 Revolution? . The Romanov dynasty came to an end in 1917, amid the chaos of a world war, a revolution and a civil war. with amethyst55 128. " According to Biography.com, in the 1970s an amateur archaeologist found a shallow grave containing the skeletons of six adults and three children tied to the events of July 17, 1918. Alexandra replied in a thank you letter to Queen Victoria: My own darling Grandmama, I send you my most loving and heartfelt thanks for the lovely bracelet with my beloved Papas head nothing could have given me greater pleasure (Heresch, Alexandra, 68) and tellingly, Alexandra continued: I shall wear it constantly The latter is important, I think, because it shows that jewellery was meant to carry around an association with the person concerned, similarly to how Queen Victoria would, remarkably, take out a locket from her corsage when on holiday in Italy. (Getty), The collection will be on public display in Sotheby's New York Galleries from December 5. Made in 1842 by court jeweller Carl Bolin for Alexandra Feodorovna, the wife of Nicholas I, it was a favorite piece of Empress of Russia Marie Feodorovna, a Danish princess married to Tsar Alexander III of Russia. At the beginning of 1930, Ivanov became aware of the upcoming seizures of items from Russian museums to be sold abroad. His name was George Frederick Kunz, and his adventures took him to Russia in the early 1890s. (Sotheby's New York), It was there Natalie met her future husband, French fashion legend Lucien Lelong. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. When he departed, Alexandra was left holding his farewell present in her hand it was a diamond brooch, on which had been engraved the words: Nickys Goodbye Tear(Richard Hough, Louis and Victoria, 154; King, 71). The famous photo taken by the Soviet commission in 1922 shows the large part of the Romanov crown jewelry collection. As a Romanov bride, Alexandra would, of course, wear fabulous jewellery, as had her elder sister Ella at her wedding in 1884, when Ella's diamond earrings had been so heavy that they had to be . I think, why not?". In this case, it was the U.S. Geological Survey Library in Reston, Va. Richard Huffine, the director, was looking through the library's rare-book collection when he came upon an oversized volume. Everett expects Princess Natalie's jewels to bring a "good lift" to the auction. It wasn't just a casual acquaintance.". Diamond necklace with pearls and ruby pendants50,000 6. The imperial wedding crown, a diamond diadem, and the jewels of Empress Catherine II floated away from him. As for the debt to the Poles, they decided to repay it with jewels. It is much too beautiful for me! Included in the auction is a Cartier bracelet, made in the 1940s, estimated between $73,000 AUD - $110,000 AUD. Back in 1921, after thefts were discovered, three appraisers were shot, while many were imprisoned. Another item from the collection of Marie Feodorovna supposedlyended up in the possession of the British royalty. Anastasia's sister Tatiana tried to escape . Brooch with small emeralds and diamonds500 102. The Crown Jewels were among the collection that disappeared. Pearl pinhead studded with diamonds2,000 84. It emerged that, in November 1918, Maria Pavlovna, with the help of her friend, Professor of Painting Richard Bergholz managed to pass that part of her jewelry collection, which the trusted British diplomat had brought to Kislovodsk, and which she had held on to, to the Swedish mission in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg). There were no inventories found among the jewels.. Pendant " with medals, roses and pearls1,500 26. She was helped in this by Albert Stopford, a family friend and British diplomat (who, according to some historians, was also a British intelligence agent). Alexandra Romanov must have had a hint at what was coming, and before their execution she had the girls sew jewels into their clothes to potentially finance a rescue. Aino Kuusinen, the wife of Finnish communist Otto Kuusinen, tells another interesting story in her memoirs. The Mysterious Disappearance Of The Russian Crown Jewels First, a party was held on February 11 in the Winter Palace. Are Faberge's long lost treasures still hidden somewhere in Russia? In March 1920, Reed was caught by customs officials in the Finnish city of Turku with diamonds hidden in the heels of his shoes. There are long-held rumours Empress Alexandra and her daughters had sewn their precious jewels into the bodices of their clothing, in the hopes they would one day escape their captors.