Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Today marks the 160th Anniversary of the Birth of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia, who was born on this day in 1864! Queen Victoria’s Hessian Granddaughter who married a Russian Grand Duke, became a saintly nun after his assassination and was eventually executed by the Bolsheviks, the Grand Duchess possessed a magnificent Jewellery Collection, which included this spectacular Fabergé Diamond Chain!
Emerald Tiara | Hesse Aquamarine Tiara | Fabergé Diamond Chain
When Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia married Princess Ella of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1884, he ordered this magnificent Diamond Chain, of twenty-nine links, from Fabergé as a Wedding Gift for his bride alongside heirlooms inherited from his mother, Tsarina Maria Alexandrovna.
Despite her massive jewellery collection, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna wore the Fabergé Diamond Chain quite regularly, for numerous official portraits and occasions over the years. However, it was noted:
The Grand Duchess found no happiness in this sort of life, which failed to satisfy her heart. Radiantly beautiful, she showed herself at balls, sparkling with jewels, but on her calm brow her vocation was already printed
The Fabergé Diamond Chain was also frequently worn as a corsage ornament with her other jewels, including her Emerald Tiara and Parure, as well as a Bandeau on occasion, remaining a favourite over her two decades at the centre of Russian Society.
After Grand Duke Sergei’s assassination in 1905, Grand Duchess Ella sold or distributed her legendary jewellery collection about relatives, with the majority of the collection being given to her niece and adopted daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlova, who married Prince Wilhelm of Sweden, Duke of Södermanland, in 1908.
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna wore the Fabergé Diamond Chain as a Necklace and Bracelets with her grand Cartier Sapphire Tiara and Parure for an Official Portrait in Swedish Court Dress taken soon after her marriage. She noted:
jewellery has always been part of the court attire and I perceived them only as an ordinary decoration and did not understand their material value.” After The Russian Revolution, when money was urgently needed for survival, I had to change her mind and sell my jewellery collection. At that time, it was almost my only source of income.
The Fabergé Diamond Chain was also worn by Prince Wilhelm, disassembled into four parts, for a legendary costume Ball in Stockholm in 1911, which Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna recalled:
In 1911, I asked the King to give a costume ball for me. To increase the fun, I started a quadrille in which young people took part. There were eight couples of us, and we danced a minuet and a gavotte. Then I danced the mazurka with my husband — a fast dance that requires a lot of vivacity. We were in beautiful Polish costumes. The spurs on my green boots sparkled and jingled to the merry music, and we did such crazy pirouettes that the emeralds sewn to my dress fell apart.”
The couple divorced in 1914, and the Grand Duchess returned to Russia with her jewels, which included the Fabergé Diamond Chain, which was worn as a Bandeau for a portrait around the time, and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna’s Emerald Tiara. The Grand Duchess managed to make a daring escape from Russia during the Revolution of 1917, with her jewels hidden in prayer candles, but had a hard life in exile.
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna opened a Russian embroidery shop, and in 1922, to fill an order for Chanel, she sold the Emerald Tiara to King Alexander of Yugoslavia, but the eventual fate of the Fabergé Diamond Chain is uncertain. It seems to have popped up at auction several years ago, but its current fate is unknown.
Emerald Tiara | Hesse Aquamarine Tiara | Fabergé Diamond Chain