The largest pearl jewelry store in Russia and the CIS. The most famous pearls in the world and entertaining stories, the diadem of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna associated with them

The pearl of Yusupov's jewels, of course, was Peregrina.
This pearl was purchased by the wife of Prince Nikolai Brisovich Yusupova Tatyana Vasilievna, nee Engelgard.

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 later became famous. She bought the Polar Star diamond, French crown diamonds, the jewels of the Queen of Naples and, finally, the famous Peregrine, the pearl of the Spanish King Philip II, which belonged, as they say, to Cleopatra herself. And the other, the steam room to her, they say, the queen dissolved in vinegar, wanting to outdo Antony at the feast. In memory of this, Prince Nicholas ordered that Tiepolo's frescoes from the Venetian Palazzo Labia "Feast and Death" be repeated on canvas Cleopatra". Copies and now in Arkhangelsk."

Here she is, the beautiful princess, and in her ear she has "Peregrine", like one pendant she wore it.
Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova wore it when she traveled with Grand Duke Sergei and Grand Duchess Elizabeth for the anniversary of Queen Victoria.
The princess also wore it as a headdress.

And pinned to the belt.

By the way, she bought 337 pearls of the Empress Eugenie for her, through Faberge. And she always wore it with them.

Prince Felix managed to take Peregrina out of Russia. And did not sell it for a very long time. Even in 1934, when Cartier bought a lot from him, Cartier did not get the peregrine.

In 1935 Peregrina was exhibited in London.
Here we read from the prince:
"In May 1935, an exhibition of Russian jewelry. Its organizers asked us to provide them with the Peregrina, and we personally took it.
...
In the catalog of the exhibition, our "Peregrina" was listed as a historical pearl, which belonged to the treasures of the Spanish crown in the 14th century. Mentioned even about Cleopatra as its first owner.
Meanwhile, the Duke of Abercorn had a pearl, which he believed to be the real Peregrine, 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 library of the British Museum to look at jewelry reference books. In the description I found, the signs and weight of Philip's "Peregrina" corresponded precisely to ours, and not to the duke's.
People poured into the exhibition. Princess Fafka Lobanova of Rostovskaya, whom I had known since childhood, Lady Edgerton's sister and former lady-in-waiting to the Grand Duchess Elizabeth, spent days and nights in the gallery, volunteering to be a voluntary guide. She had a great fantasy, her speech was brisk. Don’t feed the princess with bread, let me blow nonsense into the ears of gullible visitors. Once I found her surrounded by attentive listeners in front of our Peregrine. I go to listen to the princess' stories. I hear him tell how Cleopatra dissolved a pearl in vinegar in order to subdue Antony with extravagance of luxury. Then she was silent for heightening the effect and said: “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 auction in Geneva for 682,000 Swiss francs, almost $380,000. It seems to me not enough. Now it would cost more. I wonder who owns it now.

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 middle of the 16th century off the coast of Panama, the jewel traveled all over 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, Peregrine belonged to the kings and was an exhibit of private collections, and its value today is estimated at more than 11 million euros!

A huge pearl of the correct pear-shaped shape, according to one of the legends, was found by an African slave in the Gulf of Panama. In gratitude for the incredible find, he received his freedom. According to another version, the jewel was found in 1513, before the slaves began to arrive in Panama. Be that as it may, in fact, the pearl ended up with the manager of the Spanish colony in Panama, and later was 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. Most of the time she stayed in Spain and England, for some time Peregrina was owned by the French monarchs. Initially, 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 portraits, Mary Tudor posed with this particular decoration.

After her death, the queen bequeathed to return Peregrina to Spain, the pearl spent more than 250 years there. During this time, she was at the disposal of Margaret of Austria, the wife of King Philip III. Historical evidence has survived 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 elder brother. The Spaniards were dissatisfied with his reign and forced him to abdicate, however, having lost the crown, Joseph took the royal jewels with him, leaving for Paris. Among them was the pearl of Peregrine. 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. Peregrine was bought out for $37,000 by actor Richard Burton, the fifth of Elizabeth Taylor's eight husbands. He gave the jewelry as a gift to his beloved on Valentine's Day.

Taylor modified the jewelry. Specialists of the jewelry house "Cartier" have made a rich necklace inlaid with pearls, diamonds and rubies. Peregrine began to look even more luxurious than before.
Following the death of Elizabeth Taylor in December 2011, Peregrine was put up for auction again. It was expected that the price of the jewel would be about three million dollars, but within the first five minutes the rates soared to a record high of $11.8 million. The buyer from Asia wished not to give his name.

The Wanderer Peregrine continues her journey. It remains only to follow where next time there will be information about the most expensive and largest pearl in the world!

In addition to the pearl of Peregrine, there were other unique jewels 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!

December 7, 2017, 14:42

1. pearl of La Peregrina or "The Pilgrim"
For quite a long time, the pearl of La Peregrina or "The Pilgrim" was considered the most flawless in the world: its perfect bright white color and pear-shaped shape made the pearl perfect. The weight of the stone is 10.19 gr., or 50.95 kata. The "Pilgrim" was mined 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 leave himself a stunning rarity and presented the pearl as a gift to his bride Mary Tudor of England.

However, the history of the pearl does not end there, because it was not for nothing that she was nicknamed the “Pilgrim”: she was in the hands of Bonaparte, Queen Margaret, King of Spain, and the Marquis of Abercorn. As a result, in 1969 this pearl was bought for $37,000 by Richard Burton for his beloved wife, Elizabeth Taylor.

2. Pelegrina by Zinaida Yusupova
The next well-known pearl is La Pellegrina (do not confuse with the above-described La Peregrina), translated as “Incomparable”, is 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, she went to auction at Christie's for a whopping $463,800.

Portrait of Zinaida Yusupova with the family pearl "Pelegrin"

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 going to the ball and in her hair - that same "Pelegrina" ...


Zinaida Yusupova in a Russian suit embroidered with pearls

3. Ring of Elizabeth I
In the treasury of the British crown there are many tiaras, luxurious necklaces and brooches. In the photographs, many of the stones seem fake, they are so huge. I am already for the fact that Meghan Markle may touch and see these treasures up close, I envy her wildly. Kate is completely the whitest envy, since she is allowed to wear much of this beauty.
But let's 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 one. It contains two portraits at once: Queen Elizabeth herself and her mother, Anne Boleyn. The very fact of the existence of such a ring in Elizabeth speaks of one thing - despite the accusation of treason to 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 around 1575. It is made of mother-of-pearl, the front part is covered with gold and decorated with flat-faced rubies and diamonds, pearls, and also decorated with enamel.

4. DAGMAR necklace
Alexandra of Denmark, Princess of Denmark, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and Empress of India, was the sister of the Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna and aunt of Emperor Nicholas II. She and her sister, Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, amassed some of the most magnificent collections of gemstones, some of which were never even set into jewelry and never worn.
One of the most beautiful jewels of Queen Alexandra 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 the same enameled cross on her chest. Her grave was opened centuries later and the cross was removed as a precious relic. It has since become a tradition that Danish princesses received a replica of the cross as a talisman when they got married.
Queen Alexandra rarely wore the necklace, and if she did, it was along with hundreds of other fabulous gems.

5. Chain with pearls and diamonds of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in fancy dress. The dress of the Empress is a copy of the ceremonial attire of Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna, wife of Alexei Mikhailovich, sewn on the model of a plaid, an old Russian dress with wide sleeves, which was worn according to special occasions during festivals and ceremonies. The chain, suspended on the sides of the board under the Empress's crown-cap, is modeled after a cassock of polished egg-shaped, diamond-encrusted elements, alternating with grains of pearls and ending with two "tassels with a fringe" of pear-shaped Brazilian diamonds. The creator of this beautiful piece of jewelry of the late XVIII century. considered to be the famous St. Petersburg jeweler Jean-Jacques Duke.

6. "Russian beauty"

This pearl diadem was created by the 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 & Co., who later resold it to the 9th Duke of Marlborough for his second wife, Gladys (1881-1977). When she died, the diadem was sold again.

In 1978, the diadem was auctioned off in London and later found its way into the collection of Imelda Marcos. After the overthrow of her husband, Ferdinand Marcos, Imelda's jewelry was confiscated and is in the Central Bank of the Philippines. In 1987, Moscow jewelers restored the "Russian Beauty" tiara made of 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 Feyring in 1595-96 in Odense with the assistance of the Nuremberg jeweler Corvinian Savra. The crown of Christian IV has the form of the so-called open crown. It is made of gold, precious stones and pearls; in its manufacture, the enamel technique was used, the weight of the crown - 2895 grams. This crown was last used in 1648 by Frederick III (son of Christian IV). Today it is kept in Rosenborg Castle ("Castle of Roses"), the castle was built by Christian IV in 1606-1624.

8. Crowns of Iran
1st crown
Crown "Kiani" was the traditional coronation crown in the Iranian Crown Jewels that was used during the Qajar dynasty (1796–1925).
The crown was made during the reign of Fath Ali Shah, in 1797, it was used by several shahs after him. It became the first crown made after the Sasanian dynasty.
"Crown of Kiani" is embroidered approximately 1800 pearls, each of which reaches from 7 to 9 mm in diameter. Approximately inlaid in the crown 300 emeralds, the largest of which weighs approximately 80 carats. The crown also used 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 a world monarchy.

2nd crown:
In 1925, for the coronation of Shah Reza Pahlavi, who self-proclaimed himself the absolute monarch of Iran and expelled the formal head of state Ahmed Shah, the last ruler of the Qajar dynasty, a special crown was developed and created.
Shah Reza Pahlavi ordered a group of Iranian jewelers, under the leadership of Haji Serajaddin, to create new crown like the crown of the Qajar dynasty. At the same time, the crown was made according to the paintings and historical references of the crown of the Sassanid Empire, who ruled Persia from 224 to 651. The Pahlavi crown was first presented 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.
Pahlavi Shah's crown is made of gold and silver. The total weight of the crown is 2.08 kg. A large diamond is set in the center of the sun, located in the front crest. yellow color weighing 60 carats. A large sapphire is fixed in the center of the sun, located in the back crest. The number of diamonds set in the crown is 3380, their total weight is 1144 carats. Around the circumference of the crown, in three rows, there are 369 equal-sized pearls - rows along the lower and upper edges, and a row separating the base diadem from the crests. Also in the crown are 5 emeralds, the largest of which weighs 100 carats. At the top, the crown is closed by four ornamental half-arches.
Above, to the front crest of the crown, a diamond ornamental aigrette with a large emerald at the base is attached. An egret feather is attached to the crown with the help of an aigret.

3rd crown Crown of Empress Farah.

In 1967, the 48-year-old Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who had been on the throne for 26 years, finally decided to be crowned together with his beloved wife, 29-year-old Farah. Especially for his wife, the shah returned to use the ancient title of empress - shahban, which was not worn by any of the shah's wives since the 7th century.
The creation of a crown for the Empress of Iran was commissioned by the Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry house. Its author is considered to be the company's co-owner Pierre Arpels (1916-2003), a remarkable jewelry designer himself. Like the crown of the Shahinshah, created in 1925, the crown of the Shahban was made from stones belonging to the Iranian treasury, which were forbidden to be taken out of the country 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 the crown jewels were deposited with the National Bank of Iran.

Lost Treasures of the Russian Empire
(which interested me)

1. Alexandra Feodorovna's pearl necklace
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, which was presented to Alexandra Feodorovna by Nikolai Romanov's parents in honor of her arrival in Russia, have reached contemporaries. 280 snow-white large pearls-grapes made up a total length of almost two meters. In the collection of the Kremlin's Diamond Fund there is only a clasp made of emerald weighing 250 carats and 54 framing white diamonds in precious lace. It is known that in 1967 the Armory in the Moscow Kremlin organized an exhibition of imperial jewelry, where Alexandra Feodorovna's pearl necklace was demonstrated, but smaller in length.
Portrait of Empress Maria Feodorovna in a pearl dress by Ivan Kramskoy (1880s) St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum

2. diadem of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

.
This luxurious diadem adorned the head of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna during the ceremony opening I State Duma. Similar tiaras “Lovers knot” (knots of love), 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 lovers knot style, but without the diamond knots themselves. The first is a large diamond diadem of 1831 (1833) (probably by J. Ernst) with 113 pearls, shown in this picture. All traces of the diadem after the inventory of 1922. are lost; perhaps, together with other pieces of jewelry from the collection, it was sold, whole or in parts, at the Christie's auction in London in 1927.

But not everything is lost forever. Many jewels of Russian queens, kept in museums and private world collections, are only a fraction of everything that court jewelers performed. Nevertheless, even a small part of them delights and without words 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 look at the remains in our museums and world ones. But many are in private collections. (Say hello to Grandma Lisa)

Diamond necklace with drop-shaped pearls in pendants. From a parure created for Empress Marie Feodorovna in the early 1880s.

(text from the photo above) Large emerald and diamond corsage decoration of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. Elizabeth Feodorovna, sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. This amazing decoration, which is 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 in the Georges Petit Gallery in Paris. When, after the assassination attempt on her husband in 1905, Elizaveta Feodorovna sold off her jewelry in order to raise funds for the foundation of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent, she was probably aware that such luxurious jewelry as this corsage jewelry was so valuable and recognizable that it was imprudent to sell them in Russia. Apparently, for this reason, the necklace came to the international market and was purchased by the Turkish Sultan.

Egg "Lilies of the valley" made at the court imperial 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 in diamonds and rubies. Favorite egg of the Empress. Lily of the valley shoots sprout from the curved golden legs of the base, covering the egg from four sides with leaves of transparent green enamel. On the gold sides:)x 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 of the three most dear to her people appear from the egg, fan-shaped: her adored husband Nikolai and two daughters, Olga (b. 1895) and Tatyana (b. 1897). Faberge did it Easter Egg in Art Nouveau style - the favorite style of the Empress. 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 stored in the collection of Forbes magazine, New York. USA

And finally, if it’s a joke of nature, if it’s a revived legend:
"Pearl of Allah"

The Pearl of Allah has a very interesting and bizarre history. And, of course, there was a beautiful legend here, which the Chinese adore so much. Legend has it that the famous philosopher Lao Tzu, who founded Taoism, decided to somehow scratch the faces of Buddha, Confucius and (modestly) his own on an amulet, which he placed in a pearl. There is no doubt that the pearl immediately became a cult of worship and a relic that was passed down from generation to generation. But do not forget that the pearl was alive, it grew and eventually turned into a giant clam clam.

Once a pearl oyster was transported on a merchant ship, and a typhoon broke out at sea - the relic was lost off the coast of the Philippines. A bereavement for believers is a huge fortune 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 taken 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 squeezed his hand with its flaps, and he could not surface.

It is worth noting that the pearl got its name not for its gigantic size and not for its history: the head of the island on which the pearl was found decided that it looked like a head in a turban. And what is the main head for Muslims? Of course, Allah. This is where the name of the pearl came from.
The further history of the pearl was 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 Allah's Pearl for $200,000 to Beverly Hills jeweler Peter Hoffman. Then the pearl ended up in the possession of Barbish, who is now going to donate this rarity to some museum. However, according to him, many famous personalities offer simply fabulous sums for a pearl. One such offer is $60 million from Osama bin Laden. But while Barbish remains true to himself and ponders where to put the pearl on public display.

In general, what I want to say ...
Treasures of the Russian Empire is a separate topic, you start looking at the portraits of our queens - there is SUCH! Much has been lost... About the staff of Ivan the Terrible interesting story: it was adorned with 300 pearls and they lost their luster. Grozny ordered the shine to be returned and there are several options for what they did with it: the virgin bathed with him at night and soaked the staff in the river countless times ... So, by the way, it is not known for certain how exactly the pearls were returned to the blex. The staff eventually sparkled again.
Reading about jewelry is extremely interesting, and watching is a treat for the eyes.
The post is a little meaningless in terms of the fact that everything is in one heap, but pearls are diverse and beautiful. And besides pearls, diamonds are often used there, and here everything is space, I am lost to the world and stick to this beauty!

Jewels of the Yusupovs. Pelegrin.

The pearl of the Yusupov jewels, of course, was Pelegrina.

In 1826, "Pelegrina" was sold by a certain French merchant to the princess, Tatyana Vasilyevna Yusupova, the niece of the famous Prince Potemkin, who left all his fortune to his nieces, and the wife of Nikolai Yusupov, no less famous for his wealth, - a woman who loved jewelry very much and collected a decent collection of them . In this collection, in particular, there was a famous diamond, called the "Polar Star" for its size and beauty, earrings of Queen Marie Antoinette, a pearl and diamond diadem of the Queen of Naples, Murat's wife Caroline. All these items were on public display already in the 20th century, when Felix Yusupov began to sell family heirlooms.

Tatyana Yusupova, portrait by F.K. Winterhalter

I got interesting article- interview Countess Xenia Nikolaevna Sheremetyeva-Yusupova, the last of the famous and richest Yusupov family. This is her own grandfather, the famous Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov.

Every family has its own relics. For some, this is a yellowed photograph of their parents on the wall, for others - an old grandmother's icon, for others - their father's military awards. The famous Russian prince Felix Feliksovich Yusupov, robbed by the Bolsheviks and thrown abroad, like other Russian aristocrats, also had such a relic - the legendary pearl of Pelegrin. 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 their 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 going to the ball and in her hair - that same "Pelegrina" ...

Many years passed, and the old aristocrat Felix Yusupov, the same one who "killed Rasputin", lived out his life in Paris in the company of his aged wife and his faithful servant Grisha. As an innumerably rich man in the past and a real Russian gentleman, he did not know how to count money, did not know the real price of things. He never had a wallet. Money lay everywhere in envelopes, and he distributed them to everyone who asked, without counting. Therefore, very soon the old prince found himself completely without funds. Then he took the treasured pearl, which he carefully kept all these years, and went to the famous Parisian jeweler.

How much can you give me for it, monsieur? Yusupov asked modestly.

Seeing the legendary jewel, the poor Frenchman was speechless with excitement. He immediately realized that in front of him was the famous Pelegrina. There were only three such pearls in the world, and now one of them, mysteriously shimmering, was now lying in front of him.

Of course, the savvy jeweler immediately bought it, and after a while the priceless relic was sold at Christie's auction in Geneva to an anonymous buyer (it is believed that this buyer was Elizabeth Taylor) for 2 million 780 thousand francs - unprecedented money at that time. Of course, Yusupov himself was paid much less, but still a very decent amount.

Alas, the careless Felix Feliksovich also quickly spent this money. He ended up living in his old age at the expense of his faithful servant Grisha ...

Zinaida Yusupova in a Russian suit embroidered with pearls

This story was told to me by the granddaughter of an extravagant aristocrat, Xenia Nikolaevna Sheremetyeva-Yusupova, who now lives between Paris and Athens. According to her father, she is Sheremetyeva, and according to her mother, Yusupova. Her grandmother - Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna - was the sister of Emperor Nicholas II and the daughter of Emperor Alexander III, and therefore royal blood flows in the veins of Xenia Nikolaevna. It was from her that blood was taken at one time for DNA analysis to identify the royal remains.

The bearer of the two loudest aristocratic surnames in Rus' lives modestly today. Her husband is a native Greek, Ilias Sfiri, originally from the island of Ithaca (the very one where Ulysses was born), worked at Shell, and is now retired. There is a daughter Tatyana, who gave her a grandson.

F. Flameng. Portrait of Princess Z. N. Yusupova. 1894

The laws of genetics are mysterious ... If you look at old photographs and portraits of her ancestors, then Ksenia Nikolaevna looks like many of them. The same oval of the face, the same stubborn "Yusupov" chin. Family resemblance passes from generation to generation. Alas, in Russia today there are almost no such "aristocratic" persons left. All, "under the root" were exterminated by the Bolsheviks for the mere belonging to noble families. Only those who managed to leave the country in time "where people breathe so freely" survived.

By a strange irony of fate, - recalls Ksenia Nikolaevna, - the only thing they remember about my grandfather is that he "killed Rasputin." But our family could not understand how he could do this. After all, Felix Feliksovich was a good-natured person. I do not like the writings on this subject by Eduard Radzinsky. When he was in Paris, for some reason he did not find it necessary to come to me - the last of the Yusupovs, when he was preparing a book about the murder of Rasputin.

Felix and Irina Yusupov during a happy life in Russia

Ksenia Nikolaevna was born in Italy, and then her parents moved to Athens, where Emil Demidov, the former tsar's envoy to Greece, lived then, and his wife Sofya Vorontsova-Dashkova was her mother's aunt. By the way, both Demidov and his wife are now buried in the very center of Athens opposite the parliament building, near the Russian church, donated to the tsar's embassy in due time by the Greek Queen Olga, and in girlhood by the Russian Princess Olga Konstantinovna, who was born in Pavlovsk.

My mother, - Ksenia Nikolaevna continues her story, - fell in love with Greece, but it was difficult for my parents to live in it. Mother made some jewelry for sale, I had to sell things brought from Russia. My father, Nikolai Dmitrievich Sheremetyev, worked in Australia for the Vlasov shipping company, and we rarely saw him. He came home twice a year. And in France, where his parents first arrived immediately after fleeing Russia, he even had to work as a taxi driver. Then my father fell ill with tuberculosis. He was treated for a long time in the mountains, and my mother wrote letters to him every day, for two years in a row. Doctors gave him two months to live, but their sad predictions, fortunately, did not come true. Apparently my mother's letters helped. I'm sure it was her love that saved her father!

Like all Russian aristocrats after the revolution, my father had to endure many tragic moments. I remember he told how in Siberia he and his brother were thrown off the train by drunken soldiers and they wanted to shoot him. Then it was easy. People in dirty gray overcoats with rifles approached them and said: “Come on, gentlemen, we will let you go…”

The younger brother began to cry and began to shout: “I don’t want to die!” And the eldest - my father - strictly pulled him up: "Don't cry, be a man!" And he was only 15 at the time. Family pride did not allow crying in front of the soldiers. An accident saved them from Red Army bullets. Some woman asked to feel sorry for the boys.

I must say that the Russian aristocrats courageously survived the hardships that fell to their lot. Especially a lot in our family was told about grandfather - Felix Feliksovich. She and her grandmother were completely different people but they loved each other dearly. I have never met such people. I have never seen such tenderness and attention to each other, although Felix Feliksovich, not only in his youth, but also in his mature years, was famous for his folly and extravagant antics. He "loved to live," as they used to say in Rus'. Grandmother was quiet and modest. She forgave him everything and restrained his violent nature. When grandfather was dying, he said to his faithful friend: “All my life I have loved only you, forgive me for everything ...”

Felix and Irina Yusupov are already in Paris

According to the legend that our family has preserved, our ancestor was the Tatar Yusuf from Kazan. He became Yusupov after baptism. It was in the 17th century. He appeared to the Russian Tsar in Moscow and modestly asked: “Great Sovereign, let poor Yusuf live in Rus'! Poor me, very poor!”

And the king had already heard about his untold riches. He laughed and replied: “Poor? Yes, you can buy all of Russia!

Where are the treasures of the Yusupov family now? Everything remained in Russia: lands, palaces, collections of paintings, all property. The book “Princes Yusupovs” published in France contains a detailed list of what the Yusupovs owned in Russia. In Petersburg alone, they owned nine magnificent palaces and houses, and in addition, houses in Moscow, estates throughout Russia, in the Crimea, salt mines, mines, vast tracts of land, paintings by old masters, the richest decorations of palaces, family jewels.

Some of the valuables were hidden in a hiding place, which was arranged under the stairs of one of the Moscow houses. The Chekists seized Grigory Buzhinsky, the manager of the family's property, tortured him, and then shot him, but he never gave out the hiding place. The treasure was discovered by accident during repairs in 1925. Most of the jewelry was immediately sold abroad - at that time the Bolsheviks were briskly selling off the national treasure of Russia, accumulated over the centuries. But even what was owned by private individuals - the Sheremetyevs and the Yusupovs - was not just " private property”, it was in the hands of the Russian people, on the territory of Russia and was part of its innumerable national wealth, greatly reduced after the revolution.

But what did Felix Feliksovich himself do in his life so that descendants would speak about him with respect? He did not become either a commander, or a writer, or an artist, or an engineer. He did not build houses, did not cultivate fields, and did not work in the public service. He was a Russian gentleman and never worked, but such was life in those days, he was doomed to this by birth. It cannot be judged by the standards of today, the main thing is that Prince Yusupov is an integral part of the tragic Russian history, and therefore his figure deserves to be written about. Ksenia Nikolaevna herself answered my question about her grandfather as follows: “He left us something that cannot destroy time, take away rebellion, or that can be lost. This is human dignity, the nobility of the soul and the ability to humble yourself before the fatal blows of fate.

Before the collapse of the USSR, Ksenia Nikolaevna, who was born in Rome, had never been to Russia, and now she travels to her homeland every year. At the Russian Embassy in Athens, by special decree of President Vladimir Putin, she was issued a Russian passport, and she became a Russian citizen. Her parents dreamed about this for many years in a foreign land, who died stateless in Paris, refusing to accept the citizenship of other countries ...

When I first came to St. Petersburg, - the countess recalls, - I was shocked by the beauty of this city, where my parents were born and lived. A ardent feeling of patriotism, love for the motherland, which had to go through difficult times, woke up in my soul, dormant in it. I also want to contribute to the construction of a new Russia, to help the revival of Russian spirituality and culture. I think that this is impossible without us, representatives of the most ancient Russian families, because we are also a part of Russia. There are few of us left, among the Yusupovs - only I and my daughter, but we can do something for our homeland.

Ksenia Nikolaevna came to St. Petersburg for the solemn ceremony of reburial in the Peter and Paul Cathedral of the remains of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

I am very worried, - she says, - for me, every meeting with my dear St. Petersburg is a great happiness.

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There are many jewels in the world that have, like people, names. Usually their trail stretches through history through centuries and countries. People collect jewelry, and stones "collect" the owners. Some boast a very decent set of historical celebrities. In this collection, a story about the largest and most famous pearls in the world.

Pellegrina (Pelegrina)

This pearl is considered one of the most mysterious in history, its location is unknown today. The unique gem has always been called the "sister" of another famous pearl - "Peregrina". Due to the similarity of names and shape (both have an almost perfect pear shape), they are still often confused. Pellegrina was a real "pearl" of the Yusupov family collection. It is known that at one time it belonged to the Spanish King Philip IV, who in the 17th century gave it to his daughter Maria Teresa. There is a legend that Grigory Rasputin once asked Prince Felix about his two incomparable pearls - his wife Irina and Pellegrina, and that, allegedly, it was under this pretext that he was invited to the Yusupov Palace.

Most likely, after the revolution, the Yusupovs managed to take this jewel abroad, and in 1953 the pearl was sold by Prince Felix to the Genevan jeweler Jean Lombard.

Peregrina ("The Wandering Pearl" or "The Wanderer")

"Wanderer" - older sister Yusupov's "Pelegrina" can, without a doubt, be considered the most famous historical gem. It was found in the 16th century off the coast of Panama. According to legend, a slave who was so lucky was rewarded with freedom. The first owner of the rarity was King Philip II of Spain. Further, the pearl changed its kings and queens several times: Mary Tudor, Margaret of Austria, Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte and Napoleon III, the Hamilton spouses ... There is a story that the latter lost the jewel twice - at a ball in Buckingham Palace and on the sofa of Windsor Castle. This is explained by the fact that the pearl was too heavy and simply fell out of all frames.

Then both times and queens changed - in the 20th century, the pearl was owned by Elizabeth Taylor. By the way, she also once lost a jewel in a room at the Caesars Palace Hotel. There was a historical pearl in the mouth of her beloved puppy. After that, the film star decided not to risk it. Together with the jewelry house Cartier, Elizabeth herself came up with the design of a unique pearl and diamond necklace, the main decoration of which is La Peregrina. After the death of the actress, in 2011, this beauty was sold under the hammer for 11.8 million dollars.

A unique pearl, not quite the correct pear shape, but very large - its weight is about 130 carats. She received her name in honor of the brave merchant Francois Gogibus, who acquired her in the West Indies and brought her to Spain in 1620. According to legend, the merchant invested all his fortune in the jewel and offered to buy it to the Spanish king Philip IV. When the monarch asked the traveler how he was not afraid to spend all his savings on a single stone, he replied: "Because I knew that there was a king of Spain to buy it from me." Philip had no choice but to pay for the curiosity and insert it into his crown.

This jewel was considered the largest pearl in Europe until it disappeared in the 18th century. However, in 2010, she unexpectedly showed up at an online auction and was sold for $3 million.

Pearl of Allah (Pearl of Lao Tzu)

This unique creation of nature was found relatively recently - in 1934, but it managed to acquire legends no worse than most historical treasures. If you collect everything that has been invented about her, it turns out that this is exactly the pearl that the famous founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu, tried to grow a couple of thousand years ago. He allegedly placed a jade amulet with the image of three faces inside the pearl shell: Confucius, Buddha and his own, in order to get a unique pearl, and bequeathed to his students to follow this process. They carried the pearl as it grew into larger shells, but then the jewel was lost at sea during a storm. True, scientists who have studied the rarity do not confirm this version, since, according to them, this pearl is no more than 600 years old.

The next round of legends is already connected with our time. A huge pearl was found near the Philippines, and allegedly cost the life of a young diver. The giant clam of the tridacna slammed shut, pinching his arm. When the locals discovered the body and took out a huge shell from the sea, a pearl weighing almost 6.5 kilograms was found inside. A mullah from a local mosque saw in its intricate irregular shape the head of a man in a turban and called it the "Pearl of Allah." Despite the fact that the pearl does not have the usual mother-of-pearl luster, its value today is estimated at $40 million. The exact location of this treasure is unknown, there is only information that it is located in New York.

New record holder

But even a 6-kilogram “tear of the sea” is not the limit. A few years ago, The Daily Mail reported that a pearl weighing 34 kg was found in the same place in the Philippines! The dimensions of the new record holder are 67 cm long and 30 cm wide. This miracle of nature was allegedly caught by a fisherman about 10 years ago. This man, probably not at all prone to acquisitiveness, simply kept her at home as a talisman. Other people saw her only during a fire in the lucky man's house. The jewel was left in the city, where it is available for inspection while the examination is being carried out. It could cost $100 million.