Happy birthday to Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, who celebrates her 70th Birthday today! The fascinating claimant to the Headship of the House of Romanov and the titular Empress of Russia, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna has worn several striking jewels, the most spectacular of which was her Chaumet Tiara!
The legendary Grand Duchess Vladimir, great-grandmother of Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, possessed an absolutely massive Jewellery Collection, which was described by Consuelo, Duchess of Marlborough:
‘She [Maria] 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 to say nothing of semi-precious stones such as turquoises, tourmalines, cat’s eyes and aquamarines.’ What a night that would be! It seems Russian etiquette called for the hostess show off her jewels to honoured female guests. Not what would be called tasteful by others but I would be OK with seeing jewellery at a dinner party!
When she fled St. Petersburg following the February Revolution in 1917, the Jewels of the Grand Duchess Vladimir remained in a hidden safe in her bedroom at the Vladimir Palace, until her son, Grand Duke Boris, and a friend, Bertie Stopford, snuck into the Vladimir Palace disguised as workmen, smuggling the Jewels out in a pair of Gladstone Bags, which were then smuggled out of Russia, deposited in a safety deposit box in London. An inventory taken by Garrard in early 1920 revealed that the Vladimir Tiara was damaged during its journey, with some of the pearls and diamonds missing. The Grand Duchess Vladimir was the last Romanov to escape Russia, and passed away just a few months later, in September 1920. Grand Duchess Vladimir left her jewels to her children in groups of stones, with Grand Duke Kyril receiving the Sapphires, Grand Duke Boris the Emeralds, Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna, Princess Nicholas of Greece, the only daughter, inherited her mother’s diamonds and pearls, including the Vladimir Tiara, while Grand Duke Andrei inherited the Rubies, almost all of which were sold within the decade.
Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna’s grandmother, Grand Duchess Victoria Melita, also possessed a spectacular Jewellery collection, which included the Vladimir Sapphire Kokoshnik, her Greek Key Tiara, an Emerald Tiara and Cartier Sapphire Necklace, all of which were sold, while a Diamond Necklace, and some other jewels, including her English Rose Brooch, were inherited by her daughters, leading to very few heirlooms ending up in the possession of her only son Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia, the Head of the House of Romanov.
This spectacular Diadem is composed of a delicate ribbon base topped with large pearls and diamonds, that can be detached and replaced. The Tiara was made by Chaumet in Paris in 1897 (as discovered by our friend jewelryathenaeum), and though our sources (h/t to the lovely Seth) we can reveal that it does originate from the Bagration Princely Family though it has been harder to confirm when it was exactly acquired. While they had initially fled after the Russian Revolution, the Bagration Family returned to their Palace in Tbilisi, where they continued to reside in increasingly dire conditions until they went into exile in France in 1931.
The Chaumet Tiara ended up in the possession of Princess Leonida Bagration, who was married to Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia, the Head of the House of Romanov, but was not pictured in the Tiara. When their daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, married Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia at the Church of the Saints Apostle Andrew the First-Called and Great Martyr Demetrius of Solunsky in Madrid in 1976, she wore the Chaumet Tiara topped with pearls and large diamonds.
Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna also wore the Chaumet Tiara for a Ball in Germany in the 1990s, either the Wedding Ball of Duke Philipp of Württemberg and Duchess Marie-Caroline in Bavaria at Schloss Nymphenburg in 1991, or the Wedding Ball of Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein and Duchess Sophie in Bavaria in 1993.
In 1997, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna wore the Chaumet Tiara topped with ruby clusters for a series of Official Portraits, paired with a pair of coordinating earrings which she had earlier worn for the Christening of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia in 1981.
Upon Grand Duchess Leonida’s passing in 2010, the Tiara was inherited by her elder daughter, Countess Helen Kirby, the Heiress of her American father. More recently, the Chaumet Tiara, topped with a configuration of pearls and new diamond elements, was worn by Helen Kirby, Countess Dvinskaya, the elder sister of Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, for the Wedding Gala of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia and Princess Victoria Romanovna Romanoff in Saint Petersburg in 2021. Lets hope we will see this lovely heirloom worn again soon, by Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna or even the lovely Princess Victoria Romanovna Romanoff!
