A personal friend of Louis Cartier, Grand Duchess Vladimir (Maria Pavlovna of Russia) became one of the best clients of the iconic French jewelry before the Russian Revolution. Likewise, she also owned notable pieces from jewelers Bolin and Fabergé, official suppliers to the Romanovs. As the sister-in-law of Tsar Nicholas II, she had a great influence on the social life of the imperial court, whose salon rivaled that of Empress Alexandra.
Therefore, "the most grandiose of all grand duchesses" had to shine more than anyone else. The diamond parures, the Burmese rubies, the gigantic sapphires from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and the immense pearls of unprecedented purity were considered the finest jewels on the planet.
With the Russian Revolution, the Grand Duchess hid her treasure in a secret safe and managed to flee from St. Petersburg to settle in France, where unfortunately she died in 1920. An intimate antique dealer friend named Albert Stopford smuggled the 223 jewelry pieces so that the noble's children could survive, they were auctioned off and many of them were dispersed to the point that the whereabouts of many of these pieces are unknown today.
For example, Queen Mary of Teck, consort of King George VI of the United Kingdom, acquired the famous Vladimir Tiara which was inherited by her granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II and considered one of her most precious possessions; the Imperial Nuptial Crown passed into the hands of the wealthy heiress of American cereals Marjorie Merriweather Post - who also owned Mar-a-Lago, Trump's summer residence in Palm Beach - Cartier acquired important loose stones, among which was a 75.61-carat pear-shaped emerald, but much of the immense lot passed into unknown hands.
Cartier designed an emerald necklace for Edith Rockefeller McCormick, whose heirs sold the stones back to Cartier, which in 1936 was acquired by Barbara Hutton, known in the first third of the 20th century as the richest woman in the world. The prestigious jewelers designed a tiara with seven magnificent emeralds with which Hutton posed in the famous portrait taken by Cecil Beaton, where she also wore two emerald and diamond earrings and a ring with the Pasha diamond.
But due to financial problems, the millionaire was forced to sell the jewels in 1967 to Van Cleef & Arpels. As gossip, for decades it has been said that some of the valuable emeralds were kept by Elizabeth Taylor, but this information has never been confirmed.
In the last six decades, the fate of some of these precious stones is still unknown, but the appearance of Nicola Peltz (31) at the Venice Film Festival has revived the mystery as the spotlight focused on the fabulous emerald and diamond earrings. Comparisons with the image of Hutton taken by Cecil Beaton were inevitable. The wife of Brooklyn Beckham (27) received the Emerging Star award at the 25th edition of the Kinéo Awards, held within the framework of the 83rd Venice Film Festival.
Once again, urban legends have woven a narrative linking the young actress to the legendary Barbara Hutton and, of course, to Grand Duchess Vladimir. But some experts consulted, as reported by Harper's Bazaar Mexico, state that "there is no public documentation to confirm" such a historical connection. The most renowned jewelers collaborating with top-class film festivals lend celebrities jewels that closely resemble those that have made history, as is the case we are now discussing.