Queen Alexandra's sister, the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna escaped Russia with only her smaller, everyday jewels and trinkets. Which were sold following her death.
Queen Mary bought, the pearl and diamond choker, with a sapphire clasp, which was inherited by the Queen and is now worn by Princess Anne.
(The Empress wears the clasp at the back)
Queen Mary also bought the cabochon sapphire, diamond and pearl brooch. Which had been a wedding gift from Edward VII and Queen Alexandra when Prince and Princess of Wales, to the Dowager Empress upon her marriage. It is now worn by the Queen.
It is also rumoured that the Sapphire and Diamond bandeau tiara that was worn by Queen Mary and Princess Margaret was also from Marie Feodorovna, but this has never been a proven link. (It did not appear in the catalogue from the auction of the Empress's jewels).
Queen Mary also bought from the Grand Duchess Vladimir the diamond and pearl circle tiara, which Prince Michael of Kent revealed in the recent documentary that the royal family refer to as: "The Convertible Tiara". As Queen Mary adapted it to hold the Cambridge Emeralds as well as the original pearls. It was reset in the 1980s as the frame was found to be in a poor condition.
--Previous Message-- : Boffer, thank you. I know this history is : well-known to many readers here, but not to : me. I appreciate you taking time to explain. : Would anyone be willing to list which pieces : were bought by Queen Mary? Were they bought : from Alexandra's sister? I often confuse : the titles of members of the Russian : imperial family. : : : : : --Previous Message-- : It was Her Majesty's Grandfather George V, : who : was on the throne during the Russian : Revolution. : : And although they didn't offer exile to the : Russian Tsar, they did send HMS Marlborough : to rescue the Dowager Tsarina and other : lesser members of the imperial family. : It is said Queen Alexandra who emphatically : ordered her son to send the ship to rescue : her sister. : Saving the lesser members of the Imperial : family was diplomatically and politically : fine, and the British did the best they : could to help them under the circumstances : : But they feared the diplomatic and political : ramifications of offering exile to a deposed : Ruler in the middle of war. George V : believed it could spark a similar revolution : in Britain, he was stuck between a rock and : a hard place. : : The jewels that were sold by the : Grand-Duchess Vladimir and other members of : the Russian Imperial Family had been : smuggled out of Russia with during the : revolution by people who had survived. And : they were sold late in the 20s when it : became apparent that the Whites had lost the : Russian Civil War and there was no going : back, then they realised that they had to : sell the jewels for money. : : The jewels that were confiscated by the : Bolsheviks, from those that were killed in : Russia have never been seen again. : (Other than the sale of very important : jewels and stones by the Bolsheviks after : the revolution) all the other hoards of : jewels have disappeared. : : : : :
on December 20, 2011, 11:26 pm, in reply to "
