From the bookcase.. Jewels of the Romanovs

For many, the most romantic stories of the 20th Century involved the fates and possessions of the Romanovs.

Ruling Russia from 1613 to 1917, when the Revolution brought their reign to an abrupt end, the Imperial Family had lavish tastes highlighted by the quality and quantity of the jewels that they wore. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were a time of particular elegance and extravagance for the Tsars and the wealthy families tied to them.

With the belief that every jewel tells a story, Stefano Papi, who had worked at both Sothebys and Christies, spent years extensively researching to unravel the mysteries of Russian imperial jewelry.

He identifies pieces with little or unknown provenance, and he uncovers the fascinating stories behind the jewels and the people who wore them.

Through this fabulous book, that shows 200 full-colour and 100 black-and-white illustrations, Papi takes us through the golden years, and after the Revolution as he follows the survivors of the Romanov line—and their jewellery—in European courts and in Paris, where many exiles sought refuge.