Cartier Diamond Kokoshnik

When it comes to #tiaras, it’s hard to beat those commissioned by the Romanovs. This Cartier diamond #kokoshnik was made for #GrandDuchessVladimir, inspired by her purchase of a historic 5.22ct ruby once owned by #EmpressJosephine. On the receipt, you might be able to make out part of the name “Vladimir..“ and the date (1908) when she deposited seven #rubies with Cartier to transform into a creation worthy of “the grandest of all the grand duchesses”. She was obviously happy with the result because she’d not only go on to order many more jewels from the Cartiers, she’d also introduce them to her high society circle.

The turning point came in December 1910 when Louis Cartier, after years of trying to break into the Russian market, travelled to St Petersburg to meet with the #GrandDuchess in the hope he’d be able to have a stall at her famous Christmas charity bazaar. He admitted to feeling ‘intimidated’ in her presence (unusual for someone as confident as him!) but his mission was successful: he was offered a prime spot at the palace bazaar and two princesses as glamorous sales assistants.

Unfortunately, it didn’t go quite to plan, at least not to start with - to hear more about the behind-the-scene arrest of an enraged Louis and the seizure of his little #redboxes, check out the webinar- but in the end, he and his #bejewelled creations made the type of impact other jewellers could only dream of (he made the equivalent of $18m today in that single sale). Needless to say, the local jewellers weren’t best pleased: “One hundred years after Napoleon…” the Russian media bitterly announced, “there is another invasion of Russia by the French!”

This #tiara was one of many smuggled out of Russia during the devastating revolution; later sold back to #Cartier and then on to #NancyLeeds, when she was Princess Anastasia of Greece and Denmark. To discover more about the human stories behind the jewels, check out the recent conversation with @prince.dimitri about #OnceUponADiamond and the links between our ancestors – #TheCartiers and #TheRomanovs.