1. pearl of La Peregrina or “Pilgrimage”
For quite a long time, the La Peregrina or “Pilgrimage” pearl was considered the most flawless in the world: its ideal bright white color and pear-shaped shape made the pearl perfect. The weight of the stone is 10.19 g, or 50.95 kata. The Pilgrim was recovered in the 16th century off the coast of Panama, after which it was delivered to King Philip II of Spain. But the monarch did not keep the stunning rarity for himself and presented the pearl as a gift to his bride, Mary Tudor of England. 
However, the story of the pearl does not end there, because it was not without reason that it was nicknamed “The Pilgrim”: it was in the hands of Bonaparte, Queen Margaret, the King of Spain, and the Marquis of Abercorn. As a result, in 1969, Richard Burton bought this pearl for $37,000 for his beloved wife, Elizabeth Taylor.
2. “Pelegrina” by Zinaida Yusupova
The next famous pearl is La Pellegrina (not to be confused with the above-described La Peregrina), translated as “Incomparable”, considered the most mysterious pearl. At one time it belonged to the Spanish king Philip IV, who in the 17th century gave it to his daughter Maria Teresa. Then the pearl belonged to the French crown and disappeared during the French Revolution, and later appeared in Moscow, where it was bought by the Yusupovs, one of the richest families in Russia at that time. in 1987 it was auctioned at Christie’s for a whopping $463,800.
Portrait of Zinaida Yusupova with the family pearl “Pelegrina”
In the Yusupov family archive there is a photograph taken in the second half of the 19th century, which depicts Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova, a woman of extraordinary beauty - the wife of the then governor of St. Petersburg Sumarokov-Elston. The princess was getting ready for the ball and in her hair was the same “Pelegrina”... 
Zinaida Yusupova in a Russian costume embroidered with pearls
3. Ring of Elizabeth I
The treasury of the British Crown contains many tiaras, luxurious necklaces and brooches. In the photographs, many of the stones seem unreal, they are so huge. I am already for the fact that Meghan Markle will possibly touch and see these treasures up close, I envy her wildly. Kate is absolutely jealous, since she is allowed to wear much of this beauty.
But we will talk about one ring: 
This amazing ring belonged to the Queen of England from the Tudor dynasty, Elizabeth I. The ring is fraught with a secret. 
This secret is the fact that the ring is not just a portrait ring. It contains two portraits at once: Queen Elizabeth herself and her mother, Anne Boleyn. The very fact of the existence of such a ring on Elizabeth says one thing - despite the accusation of treason against Elizabeth’s father and, as a result, the recognition of Elizabeth as illegitimate, the queen never renounced her mother. And the fact that the ring contains two portraits - mother and daughter - perhaps indicates that Elizabeth emphasized her resemblance not only to her father, but also to her mother, Anne Boleyn. 
The ring dates from approximately 1575. It is made of mother-of-pearl, the front part is covered with gold and decorated with flat-cut rubies and diamonds, pearls, and also decorated with enamel.
4. DAGMAR necklace
Alexandra of Denmark - Danish princess, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and Empress of India was the sister of the Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna and the aunt of Emperor Nicholas II. She and her sister, Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, amassed some of the most magnificent collections of precious stones, some of which were not even set into jewelry and were never worn.
One of Queen Alexandra's most beautiful jewelry is the DAGMAR necklace, which was a wedding gift from her father, the King of Denmark. 
Queen Dagmar was the beloved wife of King Valdemar the Victorious. When she died in 1212, she was buried with a similar enameled cross on her chest. Her tomb was opened centuries later and the cross was taken down as a precious relic. Since then it has become a tradition that Danish princesses received a copy of the cross as a talisman when they got married.
Queen Alexandra rarely wore the necklace, and when she did, it was with hundreds of other fabulous gems. 
5. Chain with pearls and diamonds of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in fancy dress. The Empress's dress is a copy of the ceremonial dress of Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna, the wife of Alexei Mikhailovich, sewn on the model of the Platna, an old Russian dress with wide sleeves, which was worn on special occasions - during celebrations and ceremonies. The chain, suspended on the sides of the board under the empress's crown cap, is made on the model of cassocks from polished egg-shaped, diamond-encrusted elements, alternating with grains of pearls and ending with two “fringed tassels” of pear-shaped Brazilian diamonds. The creator of this beautiful example of jewelry from the late 18th century. It is considered to be the famous St. Petersburg jeweler Jean-Jacques Duc.
6. "Russian beauty"
This pearl diadem was created by jeweler K. Bolin in 1842 by order of Emperor Nicholas I (some sources indicate the time of its creation as the reign of Alexander I or Alexander III).
After the Revolution in 1927, Christie's sold the tiara to Holmes and Co., who later resold it to the 9th Duke of Marlborough for his second wife, Gladys (1881-1977). When she died, the tiara was sold again.
In 1978, the tiara was auctioned in London and later ended up in the collection of Imelda Marcos. After the overthrow of her husband, Ferdinand Marcos, Imelda's jewelry was confiscated and is being held by the Central Bank of the Philippines. In 1987, Moscow jewelers restored the “Russian Beauty” tiara from platinum, 1000 diamonds and 25 large drop-shaped pearls. Located in the Diamond Fund.
7.Crown of Christian IV of Denmark
Crown of Christian IV (1577 - 1648), King of Denmark and Norway. The king ruled the country for 59 years (since 1588). Under him, the Danish state reached the pinnacle of its power.
The crown was made by master Dirich Fayring in 1595-96 in Odense with the assistance of the Nuremberg jeweler Corvinian Savre. Christian IV's crown has the shape of a so-called open crown. It is made of gold, precious stones and pearls; the enamel technique was used in its manufacture, the weight of the crown - 2895 grams. The last time this crown was used was in 1648 by Frederick III (son of Christian IV). Today it is kept in Rosenborg Castle (“Rose Castle”), a castle built by Christian IV in 1606-1624.
8. Crowns of Iran
1st crown
Crown "Kiani" was a traditional coronation crown in the Iranian Royal Regalia that was used during the Qajar dynasty (1796–1925).
The crown was made during the reign of Fath Ali Shah, in 1797, and was used by several shahs after him. It was the first crown made after the Sasanian dynasty.
The “Crown of Kiani” is embroidered approximately 1800 pearls, each of which reaches from 7 to 9 mm in diameter. The crown is inlaid with approximately 300 emeralds, the largest of which weighs approximately 80 carats. The crown also uses about 1800 rubies and spinels, the largest of which weighs 120 carats. The largest diamond in the crown is estimated at 23 carats.
The “Crown of Kiani” is undoubtedly one of the most fabulous crowns ever to exist in the history of world monarchy.
2nd crown:
In 1925, a special crown was designed and created for the coronation of Shah Reza Pahlavi, who self-proclaimed himself the absolute monarch of Iran and ousted the formal head of state, Ahmed Shah, the last ruler of the Qajar dynasty.
Shah Reza Pahlavi ordered a group of Iranian jewelers, under the leadership of Haji Serajeddin, to create a new crown similar to the crown of the Qajar dynasty. Moreover, the crown was made from paintings and historical references of the crown from the time of the Sassanid Empire, who ruled Persia from 224 to 651. The Pahlavi Crown was first introduced at the coronation of Shah Reza Pahlavi on April 25, 1926, and was last used at the coronation of his son and successor Muhammad Reza Pahlavi on October 26, 1967.
The crown of Shah Pahlavi is made of gold and silver. The total weight of the crown is 2.08 kg. In the center of the sun, located in the front ridge, there is a large yellow diamond weighing 60 carats. In the center of the sun, located in the back ridge, a large sapphire is fixed. The number of diamonds set in the crown is 3380, their total weight is 1144 carats. Along the circumference of the crown, in three rows, 369 pearls of equal size are placed - rows along the lower and upper edges, and a row separating the diadem-base from the ridges. Also included in the crown are 5 emeralds, the largest of which weighs 100 carats. The crown is closed at the top by four ornamental semi-arcs.
On top, to the front ridge of the crown, is attached a diamond ornamental aigrette with a large emerald at the base. An egret feather is attached to the crown using an aigrette.
3rd crown Crown of Empress Farah.
In 1967, the 48-year-old Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who had been on the throne for 26 years, finally decided to be crowned with his beloved wife, 29-year-old Farah. Especially for his wife, the Shah brought back into use the ancient title of Empress - Shahbana, which had not been worn by any wife of the Shah since the 7th century.
The creation of a crown for the Empress of Iran was commissioned from the jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels. Its author is considered to be the co-owner of the company Pierre Arpels (1916-2003), himself a wonderful jewelry designer. Like the Shahinshah's crown, created in 1925, the Shahban's crown was made up of stones belonging to the Iranian treasury, the export of which was prohibited by law. Therefore, Arpels himself came to Iran several times to supervise the process of work on the crown, which took four months.
After the Islamic Revolution, all coronation jewels were deposited in the National Bank of Iran.
Lost Treasures of the Russian Empire
(which interested me)
1. Pearl necklace of Alexandra Feodorovna
The beginning of the 20th century was marked by the fall of royal power in Russia, as a result of which many objects of art, including jewelry, disappeared. Nevertheless, descriptions of the magnificent pearl necklace that was presented to Alexandra Fedorovna by Nikolai Romanov’s parents in honor of her arrival in Russia reached her contemporaries. 280 snow-white large grape pearls had a total length of almost two meters. The collection of the Kremlin's Diamond Fund contains only a clasp made of an emerald weighing 250 carats and 54 framing white diamonds in precious lace. It is known that in 1967, the Armory Chamber in the Moscow Kremlin organized an exhibition of imperial jewelry, where Alexandra Fedorovna’s pearl necklace, but smaller in length, was demonstrated.
Portrait of Empress Maria Feodorovna in a pearl headdress by Ivan Kramskoy (1880s) St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum
2. tiara of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna
. 
This luxurious diadem adorned the head of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna during the opening ceremony of the First State Duma. Similar “Lovers knot” tiaras, the fashion for which began in Europe no later than 1825, were also popular at the Russian court. The wife of Nicholas I, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, had at least two tiaras, in the style of a lovers knot, but without the diamond knots themselves. The first is a large diamond tiara 1831 (1833) (possibly by J. Ernst) with 113 pearls, shown in this photo. All traces of the tiara after the 1922 inventory. get lost; It is possible that, together with other pieces from the collection, it was sold, whole or in parts, at Christie's in London in 1927. 
But not everything is lost forever. Many of the jewels of Russian queens, stored in museums and private collections around the world, are just a fraction of everything that was created by court jewelers. However, even a small part of them delights and silently assures that these are real luxury items worthy only of royalty.
In principle, you can make a separate post about what works of art the court jewelers made. But you can go and look at the remains in our museums and around the world. But many are in private collections. (Say hello to Baba Lisa)
Diamond necklace with drop-shaped pearls in pendants. From a parure created for Empress Marie Feodorovna in the early 1880s.
(text with photo above)Large emerald and diamond corsage decoration of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. Elizaveta Feodorovna, sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. This amazing piece of jewelry, a triple cascade of pear-shaped emerald cabochons, appeared in November 1911. among the jewels of the Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid II, put up for sale at the Georges Petit gallery in Paris. When, after the assassination attempt on her husband in 1905, Elizaveta Fedorovna sold her jewelry in order to raise funds for the founding of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent, she was probably aware that such luxurious jewelry as this corsage decoration was so valuable and recognizable that selling them in Russia was imprudent. Apparently, for this reason, the necklace entered the international market and was purchased by the Turkish Sultan.
Egg "Lilies of the valley" made at the imperial court jewelry firm of Carl Faberge in 1898. Master jeweler - Mikhail Perkhin. The surface of the egg shines through the pink enamel; the imperial crown crowning it is made of diamonds and rubies. The favorite egg of the empress. From the curved golden legs of the base shoots of lilies of the valley sprout, covering the egg on four sides with leaves of transparent green enamel. On the gold st:)x there are flowers made of pearls, accented with small diamonds. A pearl button on the side activates the mechanism: the crown rises and after it, three miniature portraits appear from the egg, fan-shaped, revealing the three people dearest to her: her adored husband Nikolai and two daughters, Olga (b. 1895) and Tatyana (b. 1897). Faberge made this Easter egg in the Art Nouveau style, the Empress’s favorite style. The “Lilies of the Valley” egg is decorated with the young empress’s favorite flowers and her favorite precious stones – pearls and diamonds. Without a doubt, of all the products of the Russian jewelry master, she preferred this one. It is kept in the collection of Forbes magazine, New York. USA
And finally, either a joke of nature or a living legend:
"Pearl of Allah"
.png)
The Pearl of Allah has a very interesting and bizarre history. And, of course, there is a beautiful legend that the Chinese adore so much. Legend has it that the famous philosopher Lao Tzu, who founded Taoism, somehow decided to scratch the faces of Buddha, Confucius and (modestly) himself on an amulet, which he placed in a pearl oyster. There is no doubt that the pearl oyster immediately became a cult of worship and a relic that was passed down from generation to generation. But do not forget that the pearl mussel was alive, it grew and eventually turned into a giant tridacna mollusk.
Once a pearl mussel was transported on a merchant ship, and a typhoon broke out at sea - the relic was lost off the coast of the Philippines. A great loss for believers - a huge success for the mollusk, because only in this part of the world Tridacna gigas can grow up to 15 meters in length and weigh up to 250 kilograms. As a result, the pearl returned to the world again only in 1934, discovered near the island of Palovan. It was recovered from a giant tridacna weighing more than 300 kilograms, caught off the coast of the Philippine Islands in the South China Sea. Inside the tridacna was a pearl weighing 6.5 kilograms. But the story of the diver who discovered it is tragic: a giant tridacna pinched his hand with its wings, and he was unable to surface.
It is worth noting that the pearl received its name not for its gigantic size or for its history: the head of the island on which the pearl was discovered decided that it looked like a head in a turban. Which head is the most important for Muslims? Of course, Allah. This is where the name of the pearl comes from.
The further history of the pearl turned out to be no less interesting. Five years later, Wilburn Dowell Cobb saved the life of the son of the head of the island, for which he received this pearl as a gift. In 1980, he sold the Pearl of Allah for $200,000 to Beverly Hills jeweler Peter Hoffman. Then the pearl ended up in the possession of Barbish, who is now planning to donate this rarity to some museum. However, according to him, many famous personalities offer simply fabulous sums for the pearl. One such offer is $60 million from Osama bin Laden. But for now, Barbish remains true to himself and is thinking about where to put the pearl on public display.
In general, what I want to say is...
The treasures of the Russian Empire are a separate topic, you start looking at portraits of our queens - THERE IS SUCH! Much has been lost... There is an interesting story about the staff of Ivan the Terrible: it was decorated with 300 pearls and they lost their shine. Ivan the Terrible ordered the shine to be returned and there are several options for what they did with it: the virgin bathed with it at night and the staff was dipped into the river countless times... So, by the way, it is not known for certain how exactly the shine was returned to the pearls. The staff eventually sparkled again.
Reading about jewelry is extremely interesting, and looking at it is a treat for the eyes.
The post is a little pointless in terms of lumping everything together, but pearls are diverse and beautiful. And besides pearls, diamonds are often used there, and here everything is cosmos, I’m lost to the world and I’m drawn to this beauty!
Peregrina(literally – “Wandering Pearl”, or “Wanderer”) - this is the name of the pearl, recognized as the largest and most expensive in the world. Found in the mid-16th century off the coast of Panama, the jewel traveled around the world. One of its first owners was Mary Tudor; it was she who introduced the tradition for queens to pose with this decoration. For five centuries, Peregrina belonged to kings and was an exhibit in private collections, and its value today is estimated at more than 11 million euros!
According to one legend, a huge pearl of regular pear shape was found by an African slave in the Gulf of Panama. As gratitude for the incredible find, he received freedom. According to another version, the jewel was found in 1513, before slaves began to arrive in Panama. Whatever the reality, the pearl ended up with the manager of the Spanish colony in Panama, and was later presented to the Spanish royal court. For some time, Peregrina adorned the royal crown.
For many years the pearl was passed from one royal court to another. She spent most of her time in Spain and England; for some time Peregrina was owned by the French monarchs. At first, the Spanish King Philip II sent the pearl as a gift to his second wife, Mary Tudor, nicknamed Bloody Mary for her cruelty. For most of the portraits, Mary Tudor posed with this decoration.
After her death, the queen bequeathed Peregrina to be returned to Spain, where the pearl spent more than 250 years. During this time, she was at the disposal of Margaret of Austria, the wife of King Philip III. There is historical evidence that the queen often wore the pearl on special occasions, in particular, at the ceremony of signing the Peace of London in 1604, which ended the war between England and Spain.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Spanish throne passed to Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's older brother. The Spaniards were dissatisfied with his rule and forced him to abdicate, however, having lost his crown, Joseph took the royal jewels with him when leaving for Paris. Among them was Peregrin's pearl. A few years later, the jewel was sold to Duke James Hamilton, and so returned to England.
Rod Hamilton owned the pearl for a long time, but in 1969 the jewel was put up for auction at Sotheby's in London. Peregrina was bought by actor Richard Burton, the fifth of Elizabeth Taylor's eight husbands, for $37,000. He presented the jewelry as a gift to his beloved for Valentine's Day.
Taylor modified the decoration. Specialists from the Cartier jewelry house made a rich necklace inlaid with pearls, diamonds and rubies. Peregrina began to look even more luxurious than before.
Following Elizabeth Taylor's death in December 2011, Peregrina was put up for auction again. It was expected that the price for the jewelry would be about three million dollars, but within the first five minutes, bids soared to a record high of $11.8 million. The buyer from Asia did not want to give his name.
The Wanderer-Peregrina continues her journey. All that remains is to keep an eye on where information about the most expensive and largest pearl in the world will appear next!
In addition to Peregrine's pearl, there were other unique jewelry in the collection. Diamonds, sapphires, emeralds... The legendary actress had a collection that would be the envy of the wives of multi-billionaires and representatives of royal dynasties!
The name "La Peregrina", meaning "Pilgrim" or "wanderer" in Spanish, refers to a large pear-shaped white pearl that originally weighed 14.5 grams (72.5 carats) and is one of the most famous pearls in the world. The pearl was found at the beginning of the 16th century, in 1513, off one of the small islands in the Gulf of Panama and was given as a gift to King Ferdinand V of Spain. In 1554, King Philip II presented the pearl as a gift to his bride, Queen Mary I Tudor of England, known as "Bloody Mary".
After Queen Mary's death in 1558, the pearl was returned to Spain, where it remained for over 250 years, becoming a favorite piece of Spanish royalty.
In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Spain and installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the throne. After the defeat of French troops by the Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese army at the Battle of Vitoria, Joseph Bonaparte fled Madrid and captured the Pearl. It was then that the famous pearl received its name and became known as "La Peregrina" - "The Wanderer". Joseph Bonaparte gave the pearl to his nephew Charles Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III), who, while in exile in London, in dire need, sold it to the Marquis of Abercorn. Thus, the pearl lived up to its name "La Peregrina", having arrived from America to Spain, and after leaving for England, for a short time, it returned to Spain and remained there for more than 250 years, then moved to France, returned again to England, where it was sold at Sotheby's in 1969. Richard Burton purchased the pearl for $37,000.00 for his wife Elizabeth Taylor as a gift for Valentine's Day.
The La Peregrina pearl is one of the largest natural pearls found in the world and remains the largest pear-shaped pearl. Pear-shaped pearls, also called teardrop pearls, are often used in earrings, pendants, or, as a centerpiece, in necklaces. Over the course of its 500-year history, La Peregrina has been used as a brooch pendant, a necklace pendant, and a necklace centerpiece. Queen Mary used it as a pendant and brooch, King Philip IV of Spain used it as a hat decoration.
Until recently, the famous pearl “La Peregrina” belonged to Elizabeth Taylor. The pearl has been used as a pendant and centerpiece in pearl, ruby and diamond necklaces. The necklace was designed by the Cartier jewelry house.
After Elizabeth Taylor's death in 2011, the famous "La Peregrina" pearl necklace was sold at Christie's for a record $11 million.
At the beginning of the 16th century, after the greatest discovery of Columbus, the Spaniards set out to conquer the lands of the New World, to South America. Among the many discoveries of the conquistadors were the wonderful islands in the Gulf of Panama, possessing unheard-of wealth.
Pearl of Peregrina
In 1513, the brave Spanish adventurer Vasco Nunez de Balboa was the first European to set foot on the Pacific Ocean. Here he met Indians with an amazing boat, encrusted with delicious pearls.
Of course, the conquistador was interested in such splendor, and he began to ask the Indians about the source of their wealth. They told Balboa about the islands, off the coast of which they found countless beautiful pearls.
The Spaniard found the islands and gave them the name “Pearl”, declaring them, naturally, the property of the King of Spain.
Pearl Islands
Black slaves were engaged in the extraction of pearls for the Spanish crown on the Pearl Islands. One day, one of them found a real miracle - the largest and most beautiful pearl of all that had previously been known to the world. For such an incredible find, the slave was even granted freedom.
A magnificent pear-shaped pearl weighing 55.95 carats was delivered to the king. Since then, she received her romantic name - Wandering (or wanderer - La Peregrina in Spanish).
The first owner of Peregrina was the Queen of England - Mary I Tudor.
Mary Tudor Bloody
Mary received the crown of England at the age of 37 and remained in the history of the country as the most “bloody” queen. In her homeland, not a single monument was erected to her, and the day of her death and at the same time the day of her sister Elizabeth I’s accession to the throne were celebrated as a national holiday.
Mary Tudor Bloody
Meanwhile, Mary Tudor lived a life full of disappointments and sorrows. She was the eldest daughter of King Henry VIII of England and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
Henry lived with Catherine for seven years before they finally had a healthy child, before which all their children were born either dead or died almost immediately after birth. This healthy child was Maria.
For the next 17 years, Henry never received a male heir to the throne, and Mary remained the main contender for the English crown all these years.
In 1526, when Mary was 10 years old, the charming Anne Boleyn appeared at court, who a few years earlier had excited her father’s heart, but did not reciprocate his feelings. The king resumed his courtship, but Anna was still unapproachable - she was not satisfied with the role of the favorite...
In 1527, the king, lost in passion from passion, decides that his marriage with Catherine of Aragon has exhausted itself, and offers Anna the crown of England instead of the status of favorite.
However, despite Henry's confidence that Catherine will give him a divorce, she does not agree. As a result, the monarch had to break off relations with the Roman Catholic Church. He declared himself to the main English church and himself dissolved his previous marriage.
Henry VIII
When Maria's father married Anna, she was sent into the service of her stepmother, who hated her. Anna tried in every way to humiliate and insult Maria.
However, Anne Boleyn's power did not last long. Shortly after the birth of another daughter, Elizabeth, Henry executes his new wife for adultery. In the future, the king often changes wives and Mary’s life becomes dependent on the kind of relationship she has with her new stepmothers.
By the time of Henry's death, he had only one son left from all his marriages - Edward. In 1547, the king died, and Edward was then only 9 years old. However, it was he who ascended the throne and already in 1553 he died of tuberculosis.
When it became clear that the young king would not survive, he was forced to appoint an heir to the crown - his distant relative Jane Gray, and to exclude Henry's legitimate daughters Mary and Elizabeth from contenders for the throne.
However, the people did not want to recognize Jane and soon after her coronation there was a riot. As a result, within a month, the eldest daughter of Henry VIII, Mary I Tudor, ascended the throne.
Jane, a sixteen-year-old girl, was taken into custody. Mary had to execute her along with her young husband and father-in-law, because she understood that Jane would have been a beacon for rebels all her life.
Jane Gray before her execution
Then Mary, as a true Catholic, began to fight the Protestants. Since 1555, mass executions began... It was for these brutal reprisals that Maria received the nickname “Bloody.”
In 1554, the queen married for the first time the heir to the Spanish throne, Philip. After 2 years, Philip becomes the king of Spain, and Mary Tudor the Bloody becomes the Spanish queen. Then she receives the largest pearl in the world - Peregrina.
Mary began a tradition in which all Spanish queens subsequently posed for ceremonial portraits wearing jewelry that included a wonderful pearl.
Portrait of Maria I with Peregrina
Four years after the wedding, Mary became seriously ill and died in 1558, at the age of 43, passing the crown of England to her sister Elizabeth.
Peregrina went back to Spain. Until the 19th century, the pearl was at court and belonged to the Spanish queens.
Bonapartes and Hamiltons
In 1808, Napoleon I's elder brother, Joseph Bonaparte, became king of Spain. In 1813, the people dissatisfied with Joseph overthrew him, and he fled the country, taking Peregrina with him.
Subsequently, Josef passes the beautiful pearl to his nephew, the future Emperor of France Napoleon III Bonaparte.
Pearl of Peregrina
Napoleon III led the country for more than 20 years, until another revolution took place in Paris in 1870 and his government was overthrown. Then the former emperor retired to England, where he was forced to sell to Peregrina. It went to the Duke of the Hamilton family.
Almost 100 years later, in 1969, the Duke’s descendants sold the pearl for 37 thousand dollars at auction to the famous Hollywood actor Richard Burton. Richard gives it to his beloved wife, the brilliant Elizabeth Taylor, for Valentine's Day.
The Elizabeth Taylor Story
Elizabeth was born on February 27, 1932 in London. Her parents were American actors Sarah Viola Wombrodt and Frances Lenn Taylor. The girl's early childhood was spent in Great Britain until the outbreak of World War II, when the family returned to the United States.
Elizabeth's talent manifested itself early; when she was 10 years old, she began acting in films. In 1944, the film “National Velvet” was released, thanks to which the young actress became famous.
Young Elizabeth Taylor
At the age of 17, Elizabeth plays her first adult role in the film “The Conspirator.” After this, the actress's fame quickly gained momentum.
The personal life of the beautiful Elizabeth is also filled with success and drama. When she turns 18, she first marries the son of the founder of the Hilton hotel chain, but their marriage breaks up without lasting even a year.
Over the next few years, Elizabeth starred in various films, each time becoming more and more popular. In 1958, she played the leading female role in the film “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, and in 1959 in the film “Suddenly Last Summer”.
The Elizabeth Taylor Story
The actress is becoming the new prima of Hollywood. Then, in 59, her third husband died tragically. Taylor is interesting in everything: the press tirelessly discusses Elizabeth's career and her scandalous personal life.
However, the peak of fame overtook her in the 60s. In 1961, she received an offer unheard of at that time - for a fee of a million dollars (!) to play the role of Cleopatra in a film of the same name. The picture brought her dizzying success.
Elizabeth as Cleopatra
In addition to incredible fame, Taylor also finds the main love in her life on that set. The handsome Richard Burton, who played Mark Antony in the film, turned Elizabeth's head. They began a whirlwind romance.
In 1964, the lovers got married, and five years later Richard presented the lady of his heart with a wonderful pearl, Peregrine.
Richard and Elizabeth
The couple lived together for 10 years. During this time, they experienced many severe shocks, and both developed serious problems with alcohol. In addition, Taylor struggled with excess weight and drug addiction.
In 1973, Elizabeth announced that she and Richard were separating for some time. A year later the divorce took place. And a year later there was a wedding again... However, the ardent lovers were not destined to stay together, the new marriage quickly fell apart - in 1976 the actors separated forever.
Richard Burton, unable to overcome his alcohol problem, died at the age of 59 in 1984. Elizabeth has since married other men 4 more times...
In 2011, the story of Elizabeth Taylor, the great Hollywood actress ranked seventh on the list of the greatest movie stars, ended. On March 23, her heart could not stand it - at the age of 80, she left this world.
Elizabeth Taylor wearing a necklace with Pelegrina
But Peregrina's pearl lives on. Now it still belongs to the family of the legendary actress.
The pearl of Yusupov's treasures, of course, was “Peregrina”.
This pearl was acquired by the wife of Prince Nikolai Brisovich Yusupova Tatyana Vasilievna, née Engelhard.
Let us turn to the memoirs of Prince Felix:
“The princess was a practical person and thought about the beauty of nails. She especially loved jewelry and laid the foundation for a collection that was later famous. She bought the Polar Star diamond, the French crown diamonds, the jewels of the Queen of Naples and, finally, the famous “Peregrina”, the pearl of the Spanish King Philip II, which, as they say, belonged to Cleopatra herself. And the other, paired with it, they say, the queen dissolved in vinegar, wanting to outdo Anthony at the feast. In memory of this, Prince Nicholas ordered Tiepolo’s frescoes from the Venetian Palazzo Labia “The Feast and Death” to be repeated on canvas. Cleopatra." Copies are still in Arkhangelsk."
Here she is a beautiful princess and in her ear she has “Peregrina”, like a pendant she wore it.
Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova wore it when she traveled with Grand Duke Sergei and Grand Duchess Elizabeth to Queen Victoria's jubilee.
The princess also wore it as a headdress.
And pinned it to my belt.
By the way, she bought 337 pearls from Empress Eugenie through Faberge. And she always wore it with them.
Prince Felix managed to take Peregrina out of Russia. And I didn’t sell it for a very long time. Even in 1934, when Cartier bought a lot from him, Cartier did not get peregrina.
In 1935, Peregrina was exhibited in London.
Here we read from the prince:
“In May 1935, an exhibition of Russian jewelry was to open in London. The organizers asked us to provide them with “Peregrina”, and we personally took it.
...
In the exhibition catalog our “Peregrina” was listed as a historical pearl, which in the 14th century belonged to the treasures of the Spanish crown. Cleopatra was even mentioned as its first owner.
Meanwhile, the Duke of Abercorn had a pearl, which he considered to be the genuine “Peregrina”, and disputed the authenticity of ours. We compared both. It turned out that they differ in shape, weight, size. To clear my conscience, I went to the British Museum library to look at jewelry reference books. In the description I found, the features and weight of Philip’s “Peregrina” corresponded precisely to ours, and not to the Duke’s.
People flocked to the exhibition. Princess Fafka Lobanova of Rostov, whom I had known since childhood, sister of Lady Edgerton and former lady-in-waiting of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth, spent days and nights in the gallery, volunteering to be a voluntary guide. She had a great imagination and a lively speech. Don’t feed the princess bread, let her gullible visitors fill the ears of nonsense. One day I found her surrounded by attentive listeners in front of our Peregrina. I come up to listen to the princess’s stories. I hear him telling how Cleopatra dissolved a pearl in vinegar in order to conquer Anthony with the extravagance of luxury. Then she paused for greater effect and declared: “This very pearl is in front of you!”
Only in 1953 Felix sold it to the Genevan jeweler Jean Lombard.
And he resold it to European collectors.
In 1987 at Christie's in Geneva for 682,000 Swiss francs, almost $380,000. It seems to me not enough. It would cost more now. I wonder who owns it now.
