The best description I recall was "Magnificent, utterly magnificent, but oh so horribly heavy and restricting; one felt like one was enveloped and entrapped by the very splendour of it all."
I think it was a case of, to paraphrase Elizabeth I, "more splendid to those who see it than to them who wear it".
--Previous Message-- : Dmitry, : : I was wondering if you could thrill us with : any real-life accounts told to you, of the : weight of the nuptial crown, diamond mantle : clasp, mantle and all the other ornaments a : grand duchess had to wear on their weddings? : Was the mantle crimson, violet, or gold? : : --Previous Message-- : I believe that the jewels were supplied by : Joseff of Hollywood. I cannot swear to it, : but I seem to recall that being the case. : : : : --Previous Message-- : Regarding Romanov jewels: I was watching a : bit of "Ninotchka" the other day, : and we had Greta Garbo drunkenly try on the : "Romanov" jewels she was trying to : sell. The jewels sparkled in ways I have : usually only seen in Pathé video of the : British royals wearing their very real, : well-documented jewels. : : I mean blinding. : : Does anyone know if these jewels were indeed : real? I know they wouldn't have been actual : Romanov jewels, but real stones? : : (Cecil B. DeMille used real stones in his : movies with Gloria Swanson, while other : movie-makers did not necessarily.) : : : : :