The barely seventeen-year-old Princess Cecilia of Baden (1839-1891) married on August 16, 1857 the Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich Romanov (1832-1909), the youngest son of Tsar Nicholas I and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. Prior to marrying, it was necessary for Cecilia to accept the Russian Orthodox faith. So she was baptized on August 15, 1857 in a ceremony, being given the name Olga Feodorovna Ольга Фёдоровна.
Her jewelry is famous, and her sapphire parure was later owned by two of her children the Grand Duchess Anastasia Michaelovna Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg Schwerin and her Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich Romanov, who sells them to Henry Lascelles, later the Earl of Harewood, it was his wedding gift to Princess Mary of Great Britain, see in the picture below.
She wore it as stomacher and devante de corsage, or used single ornaments as brooches. The Princess Royal had no pierced ears, so she wore no earrings.
The Romanov sapphire and diamond necklace, was sold, but two items in knot design are still worn by the Countess Harewood, Andrea Lascelles on her wedding day and later when she was seen with Queen Victoria’s Sapphire Coronet, probably as earrings.
The Most Famous Jewelry Gifts and the Stories Behind Them
This diamond and emerald bracelet with an large octagonal emerald in the center, framed of an octagonal diamond border, is made in diamond trellis-work.
Two more of the wedding gift of Tsar Nikolas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna to Grand Duchess Marie Georgievna Romanov:
From her jewel album, we see on the kokoshnik eight diamond buttons as center of the stars, a sautoir – link chain in diamond as frame on the kokoshnik from the Empress Dowager Marie Feodorovna, and the hanging 4-rows of pearls with a large sapphire and diamond clasp(not seen) from the Emperor and Empress of Russia.
The pearl choker on her neck is also with a matching clasp, a cluster with sapphire cabochon and double row of diamonds.
On top an four pedal clover on large diamonds, a earlier present of the groom.
In front of her gown are also diamond buttons from the grooms mother Empress Olga Feodorovna, in total 16 in two sizes. On the head we could see a link chain in large diamond, probably the present of Empress Dowager Marie Feodorovna.
The ruby and diamond stomacher is an heirloom of Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna Romanov, she left it to her son Grand Duke Georg Mihailovich.
Großfürstin Marie, in der Familie Minnie genannt, hatte einen guten Kontakt zu Großfürstin Vera Romanov, Herzogin von Württemberg, der Schwester ihrer Mutter, Wera Konstantinowna Romanowa war Großfürstin von Russland und Adoptivtochter von König Karl I. von Württemberg und Königin Olga von Württemberg und lebte in Stuttgart, war auch immer wieder ein Anlaufpunkt in ihren Reisen.
Der Badische Beobachter von 1867 schreibt: Die Edelsteine, welche der Graf von Flandern seiner jetzigen Gemahlin Marie Luise zu Hohenzollern als Brautgeschenk überreicht hat, repräsentieren einen Werth von 1,000,500 Franken. Diese Kleinodien bilden einen Theil des Schmucks der Prinzessin Charlotte, der ersten Gattin Leopold’s I. von Belgien, welcher sie dem Grafen von Flandern schenkte. Der Graf besitzt übrigens eine große Auswahl von Edelsteinen, darunter ein Malteserkreuz, welches 1408 Brillanten enthält.
Find out more about the jewelry of the Countess of Flanders…
Schmuck und Juwelen der Deutsche Fürstenhäuser | Royal Jewels – Historical Jewerly and Treasure of Royals and Aristocracy | bijoux historiques| исторические драгоценности