Grand Duchess Vladimir: A legendary Cartier Client

Grand Duchess Vladimir, born Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, joined the Romanov Dynasty in 1874 when she married Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, uncle to the last Emperor, #NicholasII. A prominent hostess in Saint Petersburg, she was known as the "grandest of all the grand duchesses”.

Her #jewelrycollection was the stuff of legend. In 1902, #ConsueloVanderbilt (the dollar princess who had married the 9th Duke of Marlborough and was no stranger to important jewels herself…) recalled visiting her in Russia: ‘She had a majestic personality, but could be both gracious and charming. After dinner she showed me her jewels set out in glass cases in her dressing room. There were endless parures of diamonds, emeralds, rubies and pearls..”

The Duchess was not only one of the Cartiers’ best clients in the early 20th century, she also became a friend of #LouisCartier. It was through her – and her famous Christmas bazaar in St Petersburg – that Cartier became the jeweller of choice for the #Romanovs, then the wealthiest dynasty in the world. When Louis asked to borrow her famous 1874 diamond and pearl #tiara by court jeweler, #Bolin (top picture), she agreed with pleasure and lent it to him in 1911 for six months. Over that time, he studied it closely, in awe of its beauty and craftmanship, and it would go on to inspire him to create magnificent new jewels, like the #LeedsTiara in 1913 (bottom picture) for Nancy Leeds, the future #PrincessAnastasia of Greece and Denmark.

It was such fun speaking to Prince Dimitri about this and many other stories from the intertwining lives of our ancestors in our recent webinar. As the g-g-grandson of #GrandDuchessVladimir, he took us behind the scenes of the opulent lives of the Romanovs to the real people in those palaces living through that devastating revolution.

Many of you have been asking about a recording– it’s now available from the Webinars tab. And for those who have been asking about Prince Dimitri’s fantastic book #OnceUponADiamond (packed full of many more family stories and previously unpublished images), the link is in his bio. It would make a great holiday gift!