Evgenia Lapeka
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Man has always decorated himself. Precious stones and metals received magical powers and were recognized as protecting their owner. But the most expensive jewelry in the world is often washed with blood and curses. The rarest and most beautiful stones ruined destinies and traveled around the world, passing from hand to hand. Contemporary jewelry art amazes even the most demanding customer. This is one of the most profitable investments; exclusive jewelry will only increase in price over time.
Asscher cufflinks – $4,000,000
Jacob & Co jewelers regularly use new technologies for processing precious stones and making jewelry settings to ensure that their products are of the highest quality and always at the proper level. The best work of the masters were cufflinks, the basis of which is white gold of the highest standard (18 carats).
The jewelry is set with rare diamonds with a deep yellow color, and they are surrounded by small rectangular cut diamonds, the total weight of which is 10.76 carats. The cost of a pair of cufflinks is $4,000,000. This is an incredibly huge amount for such a product.
Empire Diamond Necklace, Tiffany & Co.
In 2022, Tiffany & Co. showed her Blue Book collection for the first time in Dubai. This marks the brand's high jewelery debut in the Middle East. To ensure that the audience remembers the premiere, Tiffany & Co. updated and brought to Dubai their legendary necklace from the 1939 World's Fair, replacing its central aquamarine with an impressive 80-carat Empire Diamond with unique characteristics: type IIa, IF clarity, D color.
Morganite stones are covered with carvings using the glyptic technique
“Panther” bracelet – $4,500,000
"Panther" is the most expensive bracelet in the world, sold at Sotheby's London auction. It was custom-made by the popular Cartier brand for Simpson Wallis in 1952. The bracelet was part of the private collection of the Duchess of Windsor along with 19 other unique pieces of jewelry. All jewelry was sold at Sotheby's auction. The Panther was bought by an unknown businessman for $4.5 million. The bracelet is decorated with diamond inserts and onyx stones.
The most expensive bikini belongs to model Molly Sims. It is made of diamonds and platinum and is worth more than $30 million.
The most expensive bracelets
Bracelets have been known since ancient times. In ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, they were favorite luxury items. Subsequently, the fashion for bracelets died out, and there are few true masterpieces, the price of which amounts to eight figures. The most famous bracelets are listed below.
Bracelet from the Gulf Pearl set - “Pearls from the Abyss” - 2 billion rubles
This bracelet is part of a set of pearls and diamonds from the Royal House collection by Harry Winston, sold at Christie's in 2006 for $31 million. In addition to the bracelet, the set includes a ring, earrings and a necklace.
Bracelet from the set “Pearls from the Abyss”
The 19.5 cm long piece is made of round and oval pearls interspersed with 24 pear and marquise cut diamonds.
Panther of Wallis Simpson bracelet - “Panther Wallis Simpson” - 806 million rubles
The jewelry was made by the Cartier jewelry house for the wife of King Edward VIII of Great Britain, for whom he abdicated the throne, Wallis Simpson. The 19.5 cm long gold bracelet in the shape of a panther figurine is completely covered with colorless diamonds and black onyxes, the eyes of the big cat are made of emeralds.
Panther from Cartier
In 2010, the bracelet was auctioned at Sotheby's along with other jewelry from the collection of the Duchess of Windsor. The final transaction amount exceeded the initial cost by 3 times and amounted to $12.4 million.
The name of the buyer is not disclosed; rumors appear in the media that Madonna has become the new owner of the jewelry.
Guifei jadeite bracelet - 338 million rubles
The bracelet, carved from a single stone of jadeite, a bright green jade that is the most transparent and rare of all types, was put up for auction at Sotheby's in 2014.
Guifei jadeite bracelet
According to legend, Chinese Emperor Xuanzong Tang gave an unusual oval-shaped bracelet with smooth edges to his beloved to highlight the beauty of the woman’s wrists. Since then, bracelets of this shape were called “Guifei”, which translated from Chinese is “the highest or favorite concubine, the second wife of the emperor.”
Stones of this size, transparency and color are very rare in nature. This is the reason for such a high cost. The deal closed at $5.2 million.
Bracelet with Bulgari emeralds - 260 million rubles
A bracelet from Elizabeth Taylor's famous set was put up for auction after the actress's death in 2011. The final price of this jewelry was set at $4 million.
Bracelet from the emerald set “Bulgari”
The decoration consists of 13 large emeralds framed with diamonds. The stones are cut equally rectangular and pear-shaped.
In addition, the set included a necklace, earrings, a ring and an asymmetrical brooch, which could also be worn as a head decoration. The set was given to Liz by her husband Robert Barton during the filming of the film Cleopatra.
Bracelet A Highly Important Diamond Bracelet - “Especially Important Diamond” - 97.5 million rubles
A bracelet from the famous jewelry house "Gerard" was put up for auction at Christie's in 2006. The Gerard brand was founded after its founder left the Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry house. The decoration was purchased for the equivalent of $1.5 million. The bracelet was called “Especially Important Diamond”.
Diamond bracelet "Gerard"
The 17.5 cm long piece is made of 2 rows of diamonds and features a large rectangular diamond weighing 29.01 carats in the center. The decoration belonged to one of the private royal collections. The names of the previous owners and the buyer are carefully hidden.
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Tiara of Empress Eugenie - $12,760,000
During the 2011 Sotheby's London auction, a rare tiara with a rich history was put up for auction. It belonged to the wife of Napoleon III and is decorated with dozens of diamonds and large emeralds. The seller of the tiara told the press that he planned to get about 10 thousand dollars for this curiosity, but he managed to sell the jewelry for $12,760,000. It was recognized as the most expensive lot of 2011. The owner of the diadem of the wife of the Emperor of France was an anonymous buyer from North America.
Earrings Extraordinary Lights, Piaget
The most interesting and valuable thing about these earrings is the impeccable selection of central paired stones: cushion-cut yellow sapphires and hot pink pear-cut sapphires. However, a frame with smaller stones (diamonds and sapphires of different shades), which resemble either the wing of a fantastic bird or tongues of flame, is also good.
The necklace is dedicated to the legendary fragrance Chanel No. 5
Garrard's Heart of the Kingdom pendant - $14,000,000
The heart-shaped pendant is made from a single Burmese ruby, weighing more than 40 carats. It is decorated with small diamonds sparkling under the sun's rays. The total weight of cut diamonds is 155 carats. The pendant was made by the jewelry brand Garrard's, which for many years worked with the British royal house and made unique jewelry for monarchs.
Therefore, Heart of the Kingdom is made in the style typical of kings and queens. The manufacturer of the pendant stated during the auction that this jewel would be a wonderful decoration for a lady going to a social event. Many famous people became interested in the pendant, and it was eventually purchased for $14 million.
Earrings from the Jannah collection, Bvlgari
The Roman jewelry and watch house launched the “Middle Eastern” collection of daytime jewelry a year ago: it was the fruit of collaboration between the creative director of the brand, Lucia Silvestri, and Sheikha Fatima bint Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a style icon and representative of the ruling family of the UAE. The main motif of gold jewelry with mother-of-pearl and diamonds is the floral decor of one of the largest mosques in the world, the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
Patek Philippe Henry Graves Complication watch - $24,128,000
The mechanical pocket watch consists of nine hundred parts, and its manual assembly took more than 4.5 years. They were made in a single copy and first appeared at an auction of expensive jewelry in 1999. Then the watch was sold for 200 thousand dollars to industrial magnate and owner of the Museum of Time, Seth Atwood.
For a long period they were considered the main exhibit of the businessman’s personal collection, and 13 years later they were put up for auction at Sotheby’s, where they were purchased by an anonymous buyer for $24.1 million. This price made the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Complication the most expensive in the pocket and wristwatch category.
Ring “Peony”, Elena Okutova Jewelery
Elena Okutova, an artist and jeweler from the Moscow region, has been building her brand for 12 years. This year, Elena showed her high-jewelry collection at the GemGeneve forum in Geneva, where luxury studios and independent craftsmen present their items. The central piece of Okutova’s collection is the “Peony” two-finger ring made of gold and silver with enamel. This is precisely the combination that is typical for diamond jewelry of the 18th-19th centuries: classics are a source of inspiration for Elena. “Peony” is decorated with diamonds, colored sapphires (lilac, brown, pink and green), rhodolite, demantoid, amethyst and spinel.
Brooch with mother-of-pearl petals and cushion-cut green tourmaline core
Necklace “L'Incomparable” – $55,000,000
The jewelry was made by the global jewelry brand Mouawad in 2013 and is included in the Guinness Book of Records as the most expensive necklace. Its name “L'Incomparable” is translated from French as “Incomparable” and this is actually true. There are no analogues to the necklace.
The basis for the manufacture of precious jewelry was 18-karat rose gold. It unites 91 diamonds of various shapes (the weight of the stones is over 630 carats). The necklace is also complemented by a large dark yellow cut diamond weighing 407 carats. Before cutting it weighed twice as much.
The stone was found by a girl playing near a closed diamond mine in the Republic of Congo.
Necklace from the Alta Gioielleria, Dolce & Gabbana collection
The famous Italian fashion house has been making haute joaillerie - in Italian this is exactly Alta Gioielleria - relatively recently, but the results are impressive. Magnificent stones, baroque-excessive, like everything from Dolce and Gabbana, design and, of course, presentation at the highest level. The presentation of new jewelry added to the collection in 2022 took place in the Venetian Doge's Palace. The necklace with asymmetrically arranged citrines, amethysts, pink beryls and more than 30 carats of Paraiba tourmaline attracts attention with its harmony of shapes and precise proportions.
The earrings feature a flawless selection of central yellow and hot pink sapphires
Earrings “Blue and pink star” – $57,000,000
“Blue and pink star” is a beautiful jewelry composition that consists of two earrings with a rare blue and pink diamond. It was put up for auction at Sotheby's in Geneva in the spring of 2022. Despite the fact that the jewelry manufacturer initially sold a whole set, he sold out the earrings one at a time.
The jewel with the blue stone was bought for $42 million, and the one with the pink diamond went under the hammer for $15,000,000. In total, the most expensive earrings cost buyers $57,000,000.
The Chopard brand is recognized as the most expensive in the world. The price of jewelry in the company’s stores starts from 66 thousand rubles.
The most expensive earrings in the world
Surprisingly, earrings were originally a decoration exclusively for men. Earrings were not popular at all times; fashion for them was the most changeable. But jewelers continued to compete in creating expensive and exclusive jewelry.
None of the pairs were included in the ranking of the most expensive jewelry, since paired gemstones of the same size are rarely found in nature. Let's choose the top 5 most expensive earrings.
Unpaired earrings Tears of Gods - “Tears of the Gods” - 3.705 billion rubles
This decoration is not a pair. Two earrings are made of the same design, but from different stones - pink and blue diamond. And they are sold separately, each of the earrings has its own name.
The earring with a pink diamond is named after the goddess Artemis, and the second with a blue diamond is named after the god Apollo.
In 2022, at a Sotheby's auction in Geneva, a total of $57 million was paid for this pair.
Tears of the Gods: Apollo and Artemis
The blue Apollo diamond weighing 14.5 carats is distinguished by the highest category of purity, the pink Artemis diamond weighing 16 carats is of slightly lower quality. Both stones are pear-shaped. Each diamond is unique and has no analogues.
They were sold separately: for $41.25 million the men's half of the set, for $15 million for the women's. The buyer turned out to be one person, his name has not been disclosed, it is only known that he is a resident of Asia.
Miroir de L'amour earrings - “Mirror of Love” - 1.135 billion rubles
Diamond earrings, the uniqueness of which lies in 2 large pear-shaped diamonds, almost identical in size, which is very difficult to choose among precious stones. Each weighs 52.5 and 50.5 carats respectively.
Earrings “Mirror of Love”
The jewelry was made by the jewelry house Boehmer et Bassenge's. At a Sotheby's auction in 2016, the set was sold for a then-record $17.7 million.
Oriental Sunrise earrings - “Eastern Dawn” - 747.5 million rubles
A pair of earrings with yellow diamonds was created by the Cartier jewelry house. In 2016, the jewelry was sold at Christie's for the third-largest amount of money in the world - $11.5 million.
Earrings “Eastern Dawn”
The oval-shaped and rare yellow-orange diamonds weigh 12.2 and 11.96 carats each. They are unique in that they are almost identical.
Diamonds from Golconda - 604.5 million rubles
The earrings were made from unusual square cut gemstones weighing 23.11 and 23.49 carats each. They got their name from the location where these rare stones were found in the mines of the Indian state of Golconda. They were presented at Christie's auction in 2011.
Earrings “Imperial pillows”
The second name of the set is “Imperial Pillows”, due to the extremely rare shape similar to it. The name of the buyer still remains unknown. He paid $9.3 million for the decoration.
Harry Winston's diamond earrings - 552 million rubles
Harry Winston's diamond earrings were made from four of the largest known paired stones, weighing a total of 60.1 carats, teardrop-shaped and set in platinum.
Harry Winston earrings
The earrings were made in 2006 and are still kept in the museum of the jewelry house. The approximate cost of that pair is $8.5 million, which could be much higher if a decision is made to put the jewelry up for auction.
Ring from Shawish - $70,000,000
The ring is made without the use of precious metals. It was cut from a single piece of rare diamond by a Swiss jeweler working for Shawish. During the production of the jewelry, modern diamond stone processing technologies were used, thanks to which the ring is free from defects.
The full name of the jewelry is “The world's first diamond ring.” Its weight is 150 carats and its cost is $70 million. But, despite its beauty and uniqueness, the diamond ring is still in the Shawish brand collection. There were no people willing to become its owner.
The Fragrance Trail necklace, Chanel
Another necklace from the Chanel collection dedicated to the legendary Chanel No. 5 fragrance. More precisely, his “train”. “I always have a bottle of No. 5 on my desk, and from time to time I spray the scent and inhale it: it inspires me,” says the head of the company’s jewelry department, Patrice Legereau. Inspired by this, Legereau created a necklace as light as a mist of perfume with golden topaz and yellow pear-shaped teardrop-shaped sapphires, as well as octagonal stones that reference the shape of the Chanel No. 5 bottle cap.
The main motif of the decorations is the floral decor of one of the largest mosques in the world
Peacock brooch - $100,000,000
In 2013, the Laurence Graff brand presented to the public an unusual and beautiful brooch called Peacock. The presentation of the product by the company’s craftsmen took place at the TEFAF jewelry exhibition in the Dutch city of Maastricht.
The brooch is decorated with dozens of cut diamonds of rare colors, and in the center there is a huge teardrop-shaped diamond. The mass of all stones is 120.8 carats. The length of the product is 10 cm. A special feature of the brooch is that the central stone can be removed and used as a pendant.
Light in Me sautoir from the Luce collection, Pasquale Bruni
The Pasquale Bruni house has many evening collections, but Luce (“Light”) is more of a daytime collection. It doesn’t amaze you with the amazing selection of stones or the excess of decor, except perhaps the originality of the design. Thus, the new Light in Me sautoir attracts attention with its unusual shape: it is connected to earrings, like headphone wires, and goes down the back of the neck. An interesting mix of tradition and modernity.
A unique 80-carat Empire Diamond is placed in the center of the jewelry
Heritage in Bloom necklace – $200,000,000
The decoration is considered the most expensive of its kind. In the process of its production, 11.5 thousand diamonds and pieces of jade were used, and this composition is crowned with a huge cut diamond weighing 104 carats. It is surrounded by 23 medium-sized gemstones, all cut from a single Cullinan Heritage diamond that weighed 507.5 carats before treatment. Chinese luxury jewelry brand Chow Tai Fook bought Cullinan Heritage for $35 million.
Afterwards it was handed over to the Asian master Wallace Chan for cutting, who spent a lot of time creating a unique necklace. Heritage in Bloom was presented at the Biennale des Antiquaires exhibition in Paris and sold for $200 million. The decoration was awarded the title "Cullinan Heritage Incarnate".
Heavy Mixed Belcher Extension Chain Necklace, Foundrae
The luxury chain necklace brand is only five years old, but it already has many celebrity clients: Gwyneth Paltrow, Emily Ratajkowski, Dua Lipa and others. The brand has day and evening styles: for example, the Heavy Mixed Belcher Extension necklace with a diamond-encrusted rose is quite worthy of a cocktail party in Hollywood. By the way, Foundrae is no stranger to intellectualism: the design of the necklace is inspired by Yeats’s “Rose of the Peace.”
The pit is made from real apricot wood
"Wedding" tiara of Elizabeth II
Created by the jewelery house Garrard & Co in the 19th century, it was purchased with money raised by the Girls' Committee of England and Ireland, headed by Lady Eve Greville. The tiara cost members of the community £5,000. It was presented as a gift to Queen Mary of Teck on her wedding day to Duke George V.
The crown was distinguished by the fact that it was decorated with 13 rare pearls, but Mary ordered them to be removed and the jewelry encrusted with diamonds. For a long time, the jewelry was kept in the Queen’s collection, and then she presented it to Elizabeth II on her wedding day, which is why the jewelry received the name “Wedding”. How much such a tiara might cost in the 21st century is unknown.
La Constellation d'Hercule necklace, Louis Vuitton
In 2022, the famous French fashion house Louis Vuitton celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of its founder, luggage maker Louis Vuitton, who was born on August 4, 1821. To mark an important date in the history of the house, its jewelers, led by Francesca Amphiteatroff, came up with a witty move: one of the necklaces from the haute joaillerie anniversary collection - with tanzanite and opal cabochons, tsavorites and signature LV Monogram star-cut diamonds - they called La Constellation d'Hercule — “The Constellation of Hercules” in honor of the constellation that was in the sky on the day Louis Vuitton was born.
“Peony” is decorated with diamonds, colored sapphires, rhodolite, demantoid, amethyst and spinel
"Blue Beauty of Asia"
Do women like to wear ties? Hardly any woman will refuse this copy. This unique piece of jewelry is often compared to a tie; the shape is too similar. A pillow-shaped blue sapphire called “Ceylon” is the decoration of the entire jewelry composition, because it is simply huge. The composition also includes white diamonds and gold, from which the chain is made.
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Brooch from the Chromatique collection, Boucheron
Continuing her successful practice of imitating natural flowers, which began with fixing rose petals on precious metal in the Triomphante collection (2018), Claire Chouan came up with peonies with petals made of high-tech ceramics in 2022. They look more like, however, not like real flowers, but like mother-of-pearl shells. The center of the peonies (in addition to brooches, there are rings and necklaces) is decorated with large stones. In the case of the brooch, it is a cushion-cut green tourmaline. The mother-of-pearl tints of the petals contrast with the shine of the diamond-studded leaf that peeks out from under the peony.
Cartier convertible ring can also be worn as a brooch
Parhelia ring from the Sixième Sens collection, Cartier
The house of Cartier employs intellectual jewelers for intellectual clients, so everything that is done there has complex explanations. The house called the collection, which includes the decoration, Sixième Sens - “Sixth Sense”. The creative director of Cartier's high jewelry division, Jacqueline Karachi, believes that the sixth sense is “a sensory spiral that engages our emotional intelligence and expresses our impressions of the contemplation of beauty.” And the transformable ring (it can be worn as a brooch) with a large sapphire cabochon is called Parhelia. In Russian, this is “parhelium” - a type of halo, the refraction of sunlight in anisotropically oriented ice crystals floating in the air.
Exotic ring design inspired by ancient and medieval China
Heart of the Ocean pendant by Cartier
The history of this pendant, famous not only in jewelry circles, but also among fans of the disaster movie “Titanic,” is as follows. He went his way from the French king Louis 14 to Marie Antoinette. And only after a long time did it reappear in Henry Hope’s personal collection. Read about the most interesting facts about the Titanic in our article on TopCafe.su.
The collector decided to give the stone a beautiful cut and turn it into a fantastically beautiful pendant. He placed an order with the famous jeweler of that time, Cartier. At auction, the Heart of the Ocean pendant was purchased by Evelyn Walsh-McLean, and after her death it passed to Harry Winston. Harry did not keep it, fearing its mystical power, and gave the pendant to the Smithsonian Institute. It is worth noting that the original is much smaller than its “film” friend.
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Choker collar from YOKO
Do you dislike shirt-like blouses because they look simple and ordinary? What about a beautiful and very precious collar? The craftsmen of the Japanese jewelry brand YOKO thought through this issue in advance, creating a very beautiful collar-necklace.
Pearl lovers will be delighted, because now we will talk about jewelry that is so replete with delicious pearls.
It’s difficult to describe in words the amazing necklace from the Japanese brand YOKO. Made in the form of a pearl collar, it makes you fall in love with it at first sight. In such a necklace you feel like a queen, and its price is also royal.
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Haute Joaillerie diamond and emerald necklace
Another luxurious creation from the Chopard jewelry house could not be missed in our rating of the most beautiful and expensive jewelry of our time. This diamond and emerald necklace surpassed all previous products of this jewelry brand; master jewelers invented and combined into one the two most expensive and beautiful precious stones existing on our planet. In my opinion, success was already inherent in the idea itself, and the decoration turned out to be royally magnificent and majestic.
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Wing Ring by Stefan Webster
Just look at that pretty wing ring, designed by celebrity-favorite jeweler Stefan Webster. During his career, Stefan created many beautiful and extraordinary products.
Madonna, Nicolas Cage, Jennifer Lopez and even Angelina Jolie have used his services more than once. Today we will pay attention to the original jewelry of the virtuoso jeweler Webster, namely a wing-shaped ring with blue aquamarines, blue tanzanites and white gold. The amazing ring was made especially for the famous lady and accompanied her on the red carpet. I think there is no need to mention that it is very expensive...
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Fred Leighton dragonfly brooch
Jewelry in the shape of animals has been very popular at different times, and our century is no exception. Particularly popular are butterflies, ladybugs and charming dragonflies. One of the wonderful options for such decoration was a cute dragonfly brooch from the legendary master Fred Leighton.
This is truly a piece of jewelry. Just look at the jade transparent, seemingly weightless wings, sparkling diamond eyes and exciting spinel chic. This brooch will decorate any dress.
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"Diamond Drops" by Harry Winston
What heavenly pure and crystal clear droplets, like morning dew drops! It was this picture that inspired their creator to create the famous jewelry collection.
This is just a masterpiece! What women would not dream of trying on these lovely specimens. Their beauty and lightness gives a feeling of simplicity and harmony. Every woman would love such exquisite jewelry. But not everyone can afford it...
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Diamond Graff Pink
This rare miracle, a “fantastic dark pink diamond” called Graff Pink, mysteriously ended up in the collection of famous jeweler Harry Winston. Winston described the diamond as the largest he had ever seen. The ring in which the diamond was set was sold to Laurence Graf, the owner of a jewelry store, hence the name of the unique stone.
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Diamond necklace "Incomparable"
The name of this jewelry masterpiece speaks for itself. The creator of the most incomparable jewelry in the world is the famous jewelry company. The necklace includes the world's largest yellow diamond called "Incomparable". Moreover, the necklace is decorated with many white diamonds and has a very beautiful shape.
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Hatton-Mdivani jadeite necklace
A very simple-looking jadeite necklace from the house of Cartier, owned by Princess Nina Mdivani, is made of 27 medium-sized emerald green jadeite beads. And the real highlight of this jewelry is the clasp made of two precious metals: platinum and gold, inlaid with ruby and diamond. Unprepossessing at first glance, the decoration costs a fortune and has its admirers. Well, everyone has different tastes and you can’t argue with them, and we won’t...
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Blue diamond ring from Chopard
A rare blue diamond cut in 18-karat white gold from the fashionable jewelry house Chopard is considered one of the finest modern jewelry. And this is not surprising, just look at this shimmering and fabulously expensive beauty.
The clear, oval, blue-hued stone is cut in white gold and features two pyramid-shaped diamonds set in a brilliant setting. It is simply an indescribably beautiful sight.
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Hofburg, Vienna, Austria
Another “treasure” of world significance is the Hofburg palace complex in Vienna, the winter residence of the Habsburgs. The six hundred years of reign of this illustrious dynasty are reflected in an impressive collection of crowns, sword hilts, orb balls, knightly and military orders, goblets, reliquaries, hairpins, brooches covered with precious stones. Even the gloves, robes and boots shine! The central element of the exhibition remains the imperial crown of Rudolf II, decorated with diamonds and topped with a blue-green emerald.
Kremlin Armory, Moscow
This Kremlin museum gives you the opportunity to look “live” at imperial (mainly Romanov) rarities - from diamond crowns to the fantastic Oryol diamond, once set in the scepter of Catherine the Great. The highlight of the collection are Easter eggs decorated with precious stones by court jeweler Carl Faberge, most of which contain miniature models, such as the Kremlin tower or the Trans-Siberian Express clockwork. Monomakh's cap, orb and scepter - symbols of royal power in the Russian Empire - are the undoubted pearls of the Armory Chamber.
Diamond bikini
Do you think that only jewelry is made of diamonds? Alas, you are very mistaken. Unexpectedly, immodestly, elegantly and beautifully, the famous model Molly Sims appeared on the catwalk in 2006 and confidently dispelled that myth. The fact is that she was wearing an unusual bathing suit made of platinum encrusted with diamonds. And the creator of such an expensive and precious swimsuit turned out to be designer Susan Rosen, who occupies the position of the chief jeweler in the house at Steinmetz Diamonds.
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Lions Fo bracelet from the Concubine Parfumée collection, Lidia Courteille
The famous French jewelry artist, antique collector and gemologist Lydia Courteil released a new collection in 2022, inspired by ancient and medieval China (as well as European myths about it). The very name of the collection—“The Fragrant Concubine”—sets the right mood. All the jewelry is impressive (there are two necklaces, three rings and a bracelet in the collection), but the most eye-catching one is perhaps the bracelet with Fo lions - guardians of the gates of Chinese temples and palaces. The lions are carved from jade using the traditional Chinese glyptic technique and seem to hold the central cabochon - a moonstone weighing almost 60 carats. The bracelet is also decorated with tourmalines, tsavorites, sapphires, rubies and pavé diamonds.
The ring is inspired by the image of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, daughter of Alexander II and wife of Duke Alfred of Edinburgh, son of Queen Victoria
The most magnificent and mysterious jewels of the world
As you know, “a girl’s best friend is diamonds.” These are the lyrics from a song originally sung by Carol Channing in the 1949 Broadway musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
If you take a short excursion into history, it turns out that not only girls loved such “friends”. And not only diamonds warmed the soul and heart of the owners.
It is interesting that in our time, owners of very expensive jewelry often keep their “friends” in safe deposit boxes. And in public they wear excellent copies. Well, that's right. It’s such a time - you never know who around will think that this necklace or earrings would look much better in his pocket!
So, let's take a good look at some of the world's most famous jewelry pieces. Many of them have a long and interesting history!
The family jewels of the British royal house could take up several pages of our review! The collection of Queen Elizabeth II of England includes more than 300 pieces of jewelry. All of them are stored in the safes of her dressing rooms, as well as in the former bomb shelter, which is located in the basement of Buckingham Palace. Undoubtedly, this is one of the most expensive and rare jewelry collections existing in the world.
Let's look at some of them.
This amazing ring belonged to Queen Elizabeth I. It contains two portraits: Queen Elizabeth herself and her mother, Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth I was illegitimate. Despite this, she was later recognized as the rightful heir and ascended to the throne of England. The very fact of the existence of such a ring on Elizabeth says one thing - despite Anna’s accusation of treason against Elizabeth’s father, the queen never renounced her mother. The ring dates from approximately 1575. It is made of mother-of-pearl, the front part is covered with gold and decorated with flat-cut rubies and diamonds, pearls, and also decorated with enamel.
Elizabeth I was a passionate fan lover. In numerous portraits of the queen you can see various fans of jewelry work: most of them are made of bird feathers, and the handles are made of gold and decorated with precious stones. There are also folding fans with carved ivory plates.
They say that the only gift that could be given to the queen was a fan.
The Vladimir tiara, inherited by Elizabeth II in 1953 from her grandmother.
Long before it entered the walls of the British royal house, the tiara belonged to Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, the wife of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich. But in 1920, the Grand Duchess had to emigrate, and the tiara remained in the safe of the Vladimir Palace. The owner could not forget about the jewelry she had left behind, so soon the British intelligence agent, having completed the task, returned more than 200 pieces of jewelry to the Russian aristocrat in exile. The Grand Duchess bequeathed all the stones to her children. Her daughter later sold the tiara to Queen Mary of Great Britain. By the way, in various portraits of Elizabeth II you can see that the tiara is decorated with either pearl or emerald pendants. Yes, the pendants are really removable!
most of her jewelry collection from her grandmother Queen Mary (full name: Victoria Maria Augusta Louise Olga Paulina Claudine Agnes), who, according to her own rules, wore a diamond tiara to every dinner, even if she dined only with her husband.
The tiara from Girls of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is perhaps Queen Elizabeth II's most famous tiara. The tiara received this unusual name in honor of the “Girls of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” society, which presented the decoration to Mary herself in 1893.
Duchess Catherine also has a lot of family jewels, given to her by the now living queen.
In her box she has several tiaras, which she also inherited, but my favorite is the one that went down in history under the name “Strathmore Roses.”
The princess appeared in the family jewelry with pearls and diamonds only once - at a reception at Buckingham Palace in December 2013. Meanwhile, the tiara has a long history: Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon - the mother of the now reigning Queen Elizabeth II - received it as a gift from her father, the Earl of Strathmore, on her wedding day in 1923, since then the tiara has been worn by Princess Margaret and the grandmother of Prince William, and now It was Duchess Catherine's turn.
The British princess also keeps modern jewelry. Her collection includes earrings with citrine and diamonds made of 18 carat gold. Unlike family jewels, these pieces can be worn every day and to any event.
The regalia of monarchs is always filled with deep meaning. For example, during the coronation, the future monarch of Great Britain always wears a coronation ring, which symbolizes the fact of his loyalty to his country.
Alexandra of Denmark was a Danish princess, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and Empress of India, who was the sister of the Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna and the aunt of Emperor Nicholas II. She and her sister, Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, amassed some of the most magnificent collections of precious stones, some of which were not even set into jewelry and were never worn.
One of Queen Alexandra's most beautiful jewelry 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 a similar enameled cross on her chest. Her tomb was opened centuries later and the cross was taken down as a precious relic. Since then it has become a tradition that Danish princesses received a copy of the cross as a talisman when they got married.
Queen Alexandra rarely wore the necklace, and when she did, it was with hundreds of other fabulous gems.
We cannot ignore the treasures of the Russian crown.
After the revolution of 17, a lot of jewelry, including jewelry of the royal family, was taken abroad. The sale of valuables to the West began literally in 1918. Moreover, the Defense Council adopted a special resolution “On the use of valuables for the exchange of goods.” Some treasures were stolen and simply disappeared.
Where is the priceless collection of tiaras, necklaces, bracelets, rings, diamond pendants made by the best jewelers in Europe, which was kept in the Hermitage Jewelry Gallery and was transferred to Gokhran? What about the treasures of the Great Mughals, donated by the Iranian Nadirshah to Anna Ioannovna, Anna Leopoldovna and Ioann Antonovich? The 1741 register mentions 22 large objects (each containing several thousand large rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds!) and 15 rings. Now only 16 things and 1 ring have survived. Where is the collection of diamond signs and diamond chains for them (at least the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, which was awarded to all Russian tsars after baptism)? Where are the imperial Faberge Easter eggs numbering 54 (or 57)? Of course, some things remain, but just some things...
Great Imperial Crown
Made in 1762 for the coronation of Empress Catherine the Great by court jewelers Georg Eckart and Jeremiah Pozier. The crown was created in record time - just two months. But they got a real masterpiece of jewelry weighing 1.99 kg. Masters set 4,936 diamonds weighing 2,858 carats in silver. The sparkle of the diamond lace is emphasized by two rows of large matte pearls, 75 in total, weighing a total of 763 carats.
It is not surprising that this crown became the main imperial regalia - all Russian emperors were crowned with it. The most expensive crown in the world is crowned with a red spinel weighing 398.72 carats, which has no equal in the world. Acquired in 1676 from the Chinese Emperor Kengxi, this stone was long mistakenly believed to be a ruby.
It is interesting that, unlike the script of the film “The Crown of the Russian Empire,” the Bolsheviks themselves sold the main relic of Russia abroad - they tore out all the diamonds from the crown and handed them over to the Minister of Finance of the Irish Republic as collateral for a cash loan. Then everyone forgot about this deal, and the diamonds remained in the Dublin safe until 1950. In the end, the USSR authorities returned the money to Ireland, and in 1984 the unique monument of jewelry art was restored. Currently, the Great Imperial Crown is in the Diamond Fund of the Russian Federation. There is a version that the crown was not preserved. And the fund houses a copy of the real crown. Of course, the diamonds and stones are real.
Monomakh's hat
The most famous of all the royal headdresses of the Russian Tsars is the Monomakh Cap.
All Russian tsars and princes, right up to Fyodor Alekseevich, were crowned with this hat. The hat was made in Central Asia, in Bukhara, in the first half of the 14th century, 300 years after the death of Vladimir Monomakh. The history of this rarity is not all smooth sailing. The Moscow princes, leaving it to their heirs, talked about the “golden cap”. It has also been proven that its first owner was Ivan Kalita. Both the hat and the horse harness were presented to Ivan Kalita by his contemporary, the Golden Horde Uzbek Khan. So this crown could not have belonged to Prince Vladimir Monomakh (c. 960-July 15, 1015). Other hats - crowns - were made in the same likeness.
The insignia of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called is an oblique cross with the image of the crucified St. Andrew and the star worn on the chest on the left. This option is the rarest award before the revolution; only 12 people were its recipients.
Portrait of Count Grigory Grigorievich Kushelev with children. 1801
Diamond "Orlov"
According to one version, this is one of the large fragments of the Great Mogul stone, originally weighing 400 carats, after cutting - 189 carats. As legend has it, the diamond was for a long time the third eye of the Brahma statue in the Seringapatam temple. Traces of the famous diamond were lost until it ended up in the hands of the Armenian merchant Gregory Safras. In 1767, he deposited the diamond in an Amsterdam bank, and five years later he sold the stone for 125,000 rubles to his wife’s nephew, court jeweler Ivan Lazarev, who resold it to Count G. Orlov for four hundred thousand rubles, a lifetime pension of two thousand rubles and a certificate of nobility.
Not only members of ruling dynasties loved jewelry. Many beautiful jewelry belonged to famous people.
Elizabeth Taylor became famous throughout the world not only as a talented actress and conqueror of men's hearts, but also as a passionate lover of jewelry and, in particular, diamonds. Most of the jewelry was given to her by her husbands. Taylor was officially married nine times, two of which to the same man. Twice her husband, Richard Burton, gave her the most expensive and famous gifts.
Barton once said that the only word Liz knew in Italian was BVLGARI.
He bought his first gift for Liz there. Their romance, which began on the set of the famous “Cleopatra” as a love affair, grew into true love (and both were not free from marriage at that moment), and Barton decided to propose to the actress. Barton asked for his hand in marriage not with a traditional ring, but with a brooch pendant adorned with an 18.6-carat emerald surrounded by diamonds for $100,000. For the wedding, Barton also gave Liz a necklace, which was Taylor's only jewelry at their first wedding in 1964.
Later they were joined by earrings, a ring and a bracelet. This jewelry set was called "The Grand Duchess Vladimir Suite" due to its resemblance to the pre-revolutionary jewelry of Russian aristocrats and the Vladimir Tiara, owned by the British royal family.
This diamond necklace was made especially for Nicole Kidman's character in the Hollywood film Moulin Rouge. The design of the decoration is made in strict accordance with the fashion traditions of that time. It consists of 1,308 diamonds, weighs 134 carats and is worth about $1 million. This luxurious piece of jewelry was supposed to be auctioned by Christie's, but at the very last moment the unknown owner of the necklace withdrew it from the auction and left it in his private collection.
Remember how we all cried while watching the movie Titanic? In 1997, the heroes Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet went on a sea voyage, which ended sadly. The Titanic sank and Celine Dion sang a sad song. One of the film's legendary props was the necklace known as the "Coeur de la Mer" (Heart of the Ocean (Sea?)), which Kate Winslet's heroine saved instead of the life of Leonardo DiCaprio's hero!
In the movie Titanic, it is not the real 13.75-carat Heart of the Ocean diamond that was shot, but its 50-carat heart-shaped tanzanite duplicate. After the film, famous jeweler Harry Winston created a replica necklace using real gemstones. At the very heart of this piece of jewelry is a 15-carat blue diamond. Since then, many copies of the famous necklace have been created.
The $30 million diamond bikini is not made of fabric, leaves nothing to the imagination and may not be worth going into the water in. This bikini, designed by Susan Rosen, consists of 150 carats of diamonds set in platinum. Even by bikini standards, it's tiny, and when a model named Molly Sims was photographed wearing the creation in 2006, it definitely caused quite a bit of conversation. According to rumors, Sims was shocked when she saw what she was about to wear: she was embarrassed by both the exorbitant price of the bikini and the fact that it covered practically nothing.
Countless master jewelers are inspired by famous jewels to create their magnificent pieces!
Diamonds are forever, diamonds are forever... That's true, of course. But what should we, mere mortals, do if no one throws scatterings of jewelry at our feet? And buying “dream jewelry” can leave you not only without pants, but also without an apartment! Imagine - in a diamond set, but on the street No, that won’t work! At the same beloved Crafts Fair, many craftsmen make beautiful jewelry that will make everyone feel like, if not a queen, then definitely a beautiful princess! At the same time, the purchase will not make an irreparable hole in the budget.
