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The Romanov Sapphire | Empress Marie Alexandrovna’s Sapphire

The Odyssey of an Important Sapphire: From Imperial Tiara to Royal Sautoir

In 2007 and 2011, I first wrote about the jewels on my website. Now, my research has added important new insights to their history.

Empress Maria Alexandrovna*s Sapphire Tiara | Romanov Sapphire Parure Jewels | Tsarina Saphir Romanov RussiaR Sapphires Kokoshnik| Romanov Tiara

A beautiful antique kokoshnik tiara once in the possession of Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia,was photographed in 1908 when Grand Duke Paul of Russia gave it for cleaning to Cartier.
The antique kokoshnik is set with seven sapphire cabochons, all fastened in a cluster of diamonds and detachable from the frame made in gold and silver and richly set with diamonds in a geometric pattern.

The journey begins with a magnificent 311-carat egg-shaped sapphire, originally part of a tiara belonging to Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. This tiara and its sapphires were later in the possession of her son, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich.


Sapphire Sautoir of Grand Duchess Kyrill| Grand Duchess Victoria Melita’s Cartier Sapphire Necklace

Victoria Melita Feodorovna Princess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Grand Duchess of Russia, in 1894 married Ernst Ludwig of Hesse, (divorced 1900), and in 1905 married the Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovitch of Russia.

A war broke out between Russia and Japan. As a senior member of the navy, Kirill was sent on active service to the front in the Russo-Japanese War. His ship was blown up by a Japanese mine while entering Port Arthur and he was one of the few survivors. Sent home to recover, the Tsar finally allowed him permission to leave Russia and he left for Coburg to be with Victoria The narrow escape from death had hardened Kirill's determination to marry Victoria. "To those over whom the shadow of death has passed, life has a new meaning," Kirill wrote in his memoirs. "It is like daylight. And I was now within visible reach of fulfillment of the dream of my life. Nothing would cheat me of it now. I had gone through much. Now, at last, the future lay radiant before me." The couple married on 8 October 1905 in Tegernsee. It was a simple ceremony, with Victoria's mother, her sister Beatrice, and a friend, Count Adlerburg, in attendance, along with servants. The couple's uncle Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia was invited, without being told the reason

Grand Duchess Vladimir & Cartier’s Introduction (1908-1909):
In 1908, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (née Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin), known as Grand Duchess Vladimir (wife of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich), discreetly inquired with Cartier in Paris about resetting a suite of these Romanov sapphires, likely mined in Ceylon. The sapphires had come to her husband’s side of the family, specifically from his brother Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich who died in 1908 and left the parure to his brothers Grand Duke Paul and Grand Duke Vladimir.

Royal Sapphires Cartier Sautoir Necklace |Romania| Queen Consort Elisabeth of Greece

The name sapphire comes from the Greek word "sappheiros" for blue; above is an art deco sautoir made by Cartier with 2 blue cabochon sapphires, one is an egg-shaped star-sapphire of 311 ct and the gem of 35.13 ct.

Princess Elisabeth of Romania ( 1894 -1956) was the Queen Consort of King George II of Greece. She was the daughter of King Ferdinand I of Romania and his wife, Queen Marie. On 27 February 1921, she married the future King George, then Crown Prince, in Bucharest, but the marriage was not a success and ended in divorce in 1935. As a wedding present she got this amazing sapphire necklace from her parents.


Cartier’s ledgers note discussions about using the sapphires for a sautoir or a modern diadem. The grand 311-carat cabochon sapphire was specifically mentioned.
By June 1909, the original tiara was dismantled, and Cartier received the sapphires. While other sapphires from Grand Duchess Vladimir’s collection were sold, the impressive 311-carat egg-shaped sapphire was retained by Cartier, with a note in their vault inventory about it being held „per Cartier option.“ A minor scratch on its pavilion was noted, to be concealed in any new setting.

Grand Duchess Victoria Melita Commissions the Sautoir (1911):
In March 1911, Grand Duchess Victoria Melita (née Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), who was the wife of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich (the son of Grand Duchess Vladimir), placed an urgent order with Cartier.
She commissioned a sautoir to feature the 311-carat sapphire (explicitly noted in Cartier’s ledger as „provenance GDV [Grand Duchess Vladimir] stock 1909“) alongside a newly acquired 35.12-carat Ceylon star sapphire. The design included 18 transitional diamonds and a platinum chain.
This sautoir was intended as a 15th-anniversary gift from her husband, Grand Duke Kirill. Cartier cleverly suspended the 311-carat gem as a pendant, concealing the previously noted scratch. The piece was delivered by May 1911 – learn more, take the link in bottom.



Revolution and a Sister’s Support:
After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Grand Duchess Victoria Melita fled Russia, managing that her maid brought the jewels to her from the vault, while she was in exile.
At some point later, Victoria Melita sold the sautoir to her sister, Queen Marie of Romania.

Queen Consort Elizabeth of Greece Cartier Sapphire Diamond Sautoir| Star Sapphire Necklace Greece | Royal greek Jewels

The necklace is set with two important sapphires, probably originally from Ceylon(Sri Lanka). The suspended from a fine star sapphire, whose of a six-rayed star sapphire, whose effetely aligned crystal inclusions within the jewel was made by Cartier in 1911, but there is more history behind the sapphire sautoir and it's amazing large egg-shaped sapphir......
The Odyssey of a important Sapphire ...from imperial to royal treasures

In 1911, a 35.13-carat star sapphire—its six-rayed asterism so precise it seemed painted by the heavens—arrived at Cartier’s Paris workshop. Its companion: a 311-carat egg-shaped sapphire, salvaged from a dismantled (Romanov) tiara. Together, they became a sautoir necklace for Grand Duchess Victoria Melita, a woman whose life would mirror the gem’s journey: luminous, fractured, and resilient.



A Royal Wedding Gift to Princess Elisabeth (1921):
In 1921, Queen Marie of Romania gifted this historic Cartier sautoir, featuring the 311-carat Romanov sapphire, to her daughter, Princess Elisabeth of Romania (Victoria Melita’s niece), for her marriage to Prince George of Greece (who would later become King George II of Greece).


Princess Elisabeth (later Queen of Greece) retained the sautoir even after her separation.
Following her death in 1956, the necklace „vanished into the private market.“
Today, this magnificent sautoir, a testament to Romanov splendor, Cartier’s artistry, and tumultuous royal lives, resides in a Swiss private collection and is occasionally loaned for prestigious exhibitions.

Empress Maria Alexandrovnas Sapphire Tiara | Romanov Sapphire Parure Jewels | Tsarina Saphir Romanov RussiaR Sapphires Kokoshnik| Romanov Tiara

Sapphire Sautoir of Grand Duchess Kyrill| Grand Duchess Victoria Melita’s Cartier Sapphire Necklace

Queen Consort Elizabeth of Greece Cartier Sapphire Diamond Sautoir| Star Sapphire Necklace Greece | Royal greek Jewels

Royal Sapphires Cartier Sautoir Necklace |Romania| Queen Consort Elisabeth of Greece

Carmen Tita Baroness Thyssen’s |Famous Emerald Jewelry | Important Emerald Diamond Flower Brooch| Emerald Diamond Necklace and Earrings

tita thyssen emerald-flower.broche flor grande esmeralda Carmen Tita Tita Cervera’s Baronesse Thyssen |Famous Emerald Jewellery | Important Emerald Diamond Flower Brooch| Emerald Diamond Necklace and Earrings
Carmen Tita Cervera’s Baronesse Thyssen |Famous Emerald Jewelry

Carmen Tita Baronesse Thyssen |Famous Emerald Jewellery | Important Emerald Diamond Flower Brooch| Emerald Diamond Necklace and Earrings

Marianne Fürstin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn | Flower Diamond Tiara Diadem Necklace | Princess Sofia zu Sayn-Wittgenstein Sayn Wedding Tiara| German Princess

Marianne Fürstin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn | Flower Diamond Tiara Diadem Necklace | Princess Sofia zu Sayn-Wittgenstein Sayn Wedding Tiara| German Princess 9.12.1919 - 4.5.2025 Marianne „Manni“ Fürstin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn ist im Alter von 105 Jahren gestorben.

Marianne Fürstin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn | Flower Diamond Tiara Diadem Necklace | Princess Sofia zu Sayn-Wittgenstein Sayn Wedding Tiara| German Princess

Devante de Corsage – The Empress Eugenie Tassel Bow Brooch | Nancy Astor’s Jewels

Nancy Astor, Lady Astor, British Royal Jewels - diamond brooch, diamond tiara, diamond jewels, histioric Jewellery, Nancy Astors Jewels, Important Antique Old Mine Diamond Bow Brooch. Formerly Property of Caroline Astor. Sold for $258,500.

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The Astor Turquoise and Diamond Tiara of carved turquoise and diamonds |Boucheron and Cartier

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Devante de Corsage – The Empress Eugenie Tassel Bow Brooch

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Princess Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg | Princess Elisabeth of Isenburg-Büdingen, granddaughter of Alexandra Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Princess Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg granddaughter of Alexandra Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin| Important Sapphire and Diamond Necklace from her grand mother made by Bolin and large Sapphire and Diamond Brooch
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Devonshire Parure set with ancient and Renaissance engraved gems, carved Cameo, Intaglio in enemelled gold studded with diamonds, consised a

 

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