The Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara

One of her most dazzling pieces was this tiara of 15 intertwined diamond circles strung together with a diamond ribbon on top and hung with articulating pendant pearls, made in the 1874 by Bolin, the Russian court jeweler. She hid this wonderful example of intricate Russian craftsmanship in the vault at Vladimir Palace in 1918 when she fled St. Petersburg in the wake of the revolution. It remained hidden away until a friend of the family who happened to be a member of the British Secret Intelligence Service smuggled the jewels out of Russia for the Grand Duchess, tucked away in a plain bag.

With her jewels finally returned to her, she split them up amongst her four children before passing away in Paris in 1920. This tiara went to her daughter, Princess Nicholas of Greece. Princess Nicholas sold her jewels to benefit both her family and Russian charities, and she sold this one in 1921 to Queen Mary. Mary subsequently had to have some repairs completed, as the journey hadn’t been kind to the fine craftsmanship. It was inherited by Queen Elizabeth on Mary’s death in 1953 along with the rest of her remaining jewel collection.