Wonderful Weekends (2015 Official Portrait of Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna)

We start this Wonderful Weekend early on a Friday. With excitement growing for the upcoming Imperial Coronation on the 3rd of July, some preeminent Royal personages are catching the wave by releasing official portraits.

This weekend our blog was granted first publishing rights for the new portrait of H.I.H. Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, pretender to the Imperial Throne of Ruskiana.

For this official portrait the Grand Duchess wore the Ruskian Pink Diamond Tiara, the most valuable and most official tiara of the former Imperial Crown Collection. 

What's Up Wednesday (Knighthood of Viscount Faraway)

 Yesterday saw a rare event as Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Ruskiana invested a new member of the Ruskian Order of the Polar Star. This order of chivalry is awarded to exceptional achievers in the field of science in particular serving the Ruskian sub-continent. It has been several years since a new member of the order has been inducted so spirits were high as Admiral Lord Jack Faraway the first Viscount Faraway received his yellow ribband and badge of the Polar Star from Her Imperial Highness. The Viscount was recognized for his work in animal conservation, war against illegal whaling and fishing and research and development in the scientific premise for humans to follow a vegan diet. 

Here we see the Grand Duchess and the Viscount shortly after the induction ceremony held in the Ruskian capital. The Grand Duchess' ceremonial role in service to the Democratic Republic of Ruskiana has been steadily growing in popularity with the people of Ruskiana. 

A detailed photo shows the insignia of the Ruskian Order of the Polar Star.

Grand Duchess Xenia looked regal as she represented the headship of the Order of the Polar Star and the special sanction of the government to honour Viscount Faraway. 

Viscount Faraway is a member of the Britanian and Scot Britanian nobility and also serves as an Admiral of the Fleet in the Principality of Swann's Royal Navy. He is also counted amongst the close friends of the Duke of Swann. His war on illegal whaling and fishing has earned him notoriety and indeed worldwide fame and now official recognition. He is due to engage the Swanobian government for greater financial and military support in his future endeavors.

We wish him all the best. 

"To be or not to be" Thursday (Imperial and Royal Families 4 The House of Romanov)

Currently there are no countries that are active Empires but two accepted Imperial Dynasties in pretense in Europa. Today we will discuss the Imperial House of Romanov that claims the throne of the former Empire of Ruskiana, ousted in the Great War around 100 years ago. 

The Imperial Crest of the House of Romanov that ruled over Ruskiana for just over 300 years is pictured above.

At its apex this Imperial Dynasty was the wealthiest, most prestigious and most influential in the world. Not withstanding the very large family was also dynastically linked to all the others in Europa through marriage. The irony is that very few members of this most illustrious dynasty are left today  as almost all were killed in the revolution that followed the Great War.

The head of this Imperial Family and pretender to the Ruskian throne is Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna Romanov. Her family who lived in exile in the Empire of Scot-Britania were almost all  murdered during the 96 Revolution. Earmarked as foreign freeloaders they were earmarked by revolutionaries but fortunately the Grand Duchess and her young sister escaped. Her great grandfather was the last true Emperor or rather Tzar of Ruskiana. Grand Duchess Xenia remains unmarried. 

Grand Duchess Xenia has a sister with whom she used to be very close. However a dispute over her sister marrying outside of the House Laws of Succession led to them becoming estranged. Grand Duchess Alexandra was last seen officially at a Royal event in 2009. representing her family at the wedding of Infanta Isabella of Hispania. Grand Duchess Alexandra is purportedly living in South Americania. 

Grand Duchess Xenia's mother is the sister of the current Grand Duke of Hanoveria's father and as such he and his sisters, Queen Maxima and Princess Kirsten Youssopoff  are her first cousins. This does not make the Hanoverians part of the Romanov Dynasty however. A twist of marriage however did make Princess Kirsten an extended member. The photo above shows the Grand Duke of Hanoveria in the center standing in between his mother in green and his wife. Queen Maxima is in dark pink next to her husband King Nikolas of Syldavia. In light pink is Princess Kirsten next to her husband Prince Felix Youssopoff.

Princess Kirsten is married to Prince Felix Youssoupoff . He is an extended member of the Romanov Family. The Prince is the second cousin in the Romanov line to Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna due to his grandmother being the sister of the Grand Duchess' father. There are no other close relations in the current dynasty of the Romanov Imperial Family. 

"To be or not to be" Thursday (Imperial and Royal Families 4 The House of Hanoveria)

It has been many months since we had an installment discussing  the Dynastic Houses of Europa. Today we will deal with the ruling Grand Ducal House of Hanoveria. This Dynastic House, albeit referred to as Grand Ducal by virtue of the title of the head of the house, is strictly speaking a Royal House on par with others in Europa. This Royal House also shares the name of the country it reigns over as the original rulers took the name of the region as their own.

The current head of the dynasty is His Royal Highness Grand Duke George III of Hanoveria. In this State portrait we see the Royal Crest and Crown of the Dynastic House of Hanoveria that has ruled over the regions known as Hanoveria for hundreds of years. 

The Grand Duke, at left is a first cousin of the Crown Prince Imperial and the Duke of Swann at right. This relation comes through his mother, a Princess of Scotney and sister of Empress Crystobel and Duchess Elizabeth of Swann. As such these cousins do not share in being of the Hanoverian Dynasty, but are as close as brothers.

The Grand Duke's paternal aunt married into the Ruskian Imperial Family in pretense and as such the current pretender to the Imperial Throne of Ruskiana, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, is a member of the House of Hanoveria.

This photo shows the Grand Duke with his mother at right and his wife at left dressed in gold. The current Grand Duchess of Hanoveria is the sister of the Baron D'Rothchild and brings Franconian Royal blood into the House of Hanoveria.

Here we see the entire current Royal Family of the House of Hanoveria and their spouses, from left King Nikolas III of Syldavia who is married to Queen Maxima nee Princess of Hanoveria, the Dowager Grand Duchess of Hanoveria, mother of the current Grand Duke, The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Hanoveria, Princess Kirsten Youssopoff, nee Princess of Hanoveria and wife of Prince Felix Youssopoff.

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Generational Tiaras)

One of the "functions" of jewellery, if not its primary function,  is to serve in the sphere of sentimentality. Often, not just in Royal Families, jewels travel across generations as family heirlooms that remind the wearer of loved ones that might even have passed on.This is an even greater reality when jewellery pieces are of great financial value and even more so when historic value is added to boot. It is the historic factor that add to the significance of Royal jewels. These jewels, made to honour great historic events and influential people, have come down the various Royal family lines to still sparkle in our modern era. In todays post we will not discuss the great Crown Jewel Collections but rather the more personal jewellery that have been inherited for generations, alluding to bygone eras and people.

The first famous jewel collection in our discussion is the Queen Crystobel I Wedding Gift Diamond Parure or more accurately, the Ladies of Scotney Diamond Parure. The confusion with the name stems from the fact that this parure was indeed the young Queen Crystobel I's Wedding Gift but it is more appropriate to honour the giver than the receiver or the event. Thus seeing as all the aristocratic ladies of the Kingdom of Scotney arranged for the gift to be created and presented to the Queen, it is officially named the Ladies of Scotney Parure. 

The gift of this grand set of jewellery, made from indigenous Scotney Pearls and rare Indiana Diamonds was a grand gesture from the Scotney Nobility. The Duchess of Argyle, Countess Dysart and Baroness Ferguson headed up the committee of prominent Ladies who raised the capital for purchasing the Parure as a gift to be presented as a symbolic blessing from the women of  " the entire country" as it were.

Unfortunately we have no photographic documentation of Queen Crystobel I wearing the parure except for this single photo from 1983. She is seen wearing only the tiara from the set. The parure was inherited by her daughter Quenn Crystobel II of Scotney, who became Empress Crystobel of the United Empire of Scot-Britania. 

The parure survived the revolution and it is still owned by the Imperial descendants of Empress Crystobel. In this photo from 2011 we see her wearing the full parure with the tiara. This set of historic jewellery may soon to be seen on the head of Princess Odeliah, daughter in law of Empress Crystobel. 

It is obvious that there is a vast collection of jewellery in the Imperial collection that has been passed down from former generations but only some are either, extremely historic or exceptionally rare by virtue of the size of the stones. One such piece is the can be seen in the photo above worn by Empress Crystobel. The Imperial Sapphire Tiara was originally made in Ruskiana as a gift from the Tzar of Ruskiana to the visiting King and Queen of Britania in 1896. That year the Imperial Family of Ruskiana celebrated it Bicentenary and hosted the greatest State Ball the world had ever seen. As part of the display of Ruskian wealth the Tzar decided to bestow spectacular Tiaras, as gifts showcasing Ruskian craftsmanship, upon all the wives of the visiting monarchs. The tiara has been passed down the Britanian line ever since. Currently it is still owned by the Crown Prince Imperial. 

Here we see princess Odeliah wearing the historic tiara in 2011. 

The Hispanian Royal Jewellery Collection also several inherited pieces that are quite old. However one parure has been very well documented as its been worn by many generations. 

 The Hispanian Ruby Parure of Queen Esperanza is very beautiful, impressive yet not over the top. It did not start off as a complete parure nor as a set inclusive of rubies. The story begins with a diamond tiara owned by Queen Esperanza which is also where the parure gets its name from. The original tiara can be seen without the rubies in the photo above taken in the 1930's.

The original tiara was a gift from the noble women of Hispania, who clubbed together to present a worthy present to their new Queen upon her marriage to King Carlos X, the great grandfather of the current Queen. The tiara was set with diamonds only in those early days however, Queen Esperanza ended up with what she must have thought to be too many diamond tiaras and on her ruby anniversary decided to have them swapped for rubies. Before that even took place she had acquired through inheritance a demi-parure of rubies that just asked for a tiara to be added, so everything joined together to form the spectacular set that we can enjoy today.

The present Queen of Hispania's mother, the Dowager Princess of Cataljone wore the rubies for her last official portrait in 2010.

Queen Maria has often worn the set and also lent it to her sister on occasions where she represented the Hispanian Monarchy.  

The Princess of Cataljone, as heir to the Hispanian throne has also officially worn the set but has added a modern single strand necklace in preference over the bulky historic one. 

The Grand Principality of Wallachia boasts very old historic jewels but few with a personal touch. One parure of diamonds carries the sentimental inheritance aspect however albeit not the oldest of sets. 

Princess Xenia's mother, seen in the photo above, is the younger sister of the Duke of Swann's father. As a Princess by birth she left her country of origin with a dowry of Swanobian ancestral jewels. The Swann Dowry Diamond Parure as it has now become known is one of the most dazzling in the Wallachian collection. It consists of a Fringe Tiara, a matching Fringe Necklace and Earrings in the shape of a cross. The set was made for Princess Suzanna's mother on her 25th wedding anniversary and was then left with Princess Suzanna to become a part of the Wallachian Jewellery Collection.

Princess Xenia, the current ruler of Wallachia often wears her mother's Swanobian Dowry Diamond Parure.

The Imperial Jewels of Ruskiana are imbued with centuries of history. However very little of the vast Imperial Collection remains today. Yet, the current pretender to the Ruskian throne did gain a part of her family's history by an almost miraculous turn of events. 

In this photo taken in 1949, Her Imperial Majesty Tzarina Feodorovna, wife of Tzar Alexander III wears the more religious and traditional uncut ruby beads and iconic cross from the Imperial Ruby Parure along with the tiara. She is the long desceased great great grandmother of Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, the current pretender to the Ruskian throne. Many pieces of family jewels survived by escaping with members of the extended Imperial family. However the Imperial Ruby Parure was thought to have been lost to history as no records of it exists in the archived catalogue of the Bolshevik Government who annexed the Imperial jewels after the revolution. The jewels were in fact smuggled out of Ruskiana by an ancestor of the current Duke of Swann and hidden in a Hanoverian warehouse. There they were forgotten, only to be discovered in a sealed chest kept in the back of an old car that was proven by old documents to be the property of the Duke of Swann. In reclaiming his grandfather's car in 2013 did it reveal the lost Ruskian treasure that was then handed over to the Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna. 

 Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna wears the more fashionable necklace, earrings and brooch along with the tiara. 

The many Noble Families in Europa also have sentimental ancestral jewels with historic provenance. 

This Platinum, Diamond and Aquamarine Parure belonged to the Dukes of Marlboro. 

The Marlboro Aquamarines have come down the inherited line to Sir Michael Jennings, the brother of the current Duke of Marlboro, who married Princess Isabella of Hispania. She is now the proud wearer of her husband's ancestral jewels. 

The Earl of Cartwright has also passed another Aquamarine Parure that belonged to his great grandmother, was worn by his mother as can be seen above, on to his new wife. 

In this photo the new Countess Cartwright wears her husband's Family Aquamarines on her wedding day. 

There are much more such stories to be told than one can imagine as the total amount of jewellery pieces and their individual histories, no one has dared to even attempt to count. We hoped you enjoyed the few recounted her. 

Wonderful Weekends (Portrait of Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Ruskiana)

Since the discovery of the Imperial Crown Jewels of Ruskiana by the Duke of Swann and their return to their homeland for permanent display in the State Treasury, there has been a lot of public interest in the monarchic history of Ruskiana. The public have shown great appreciation for the Crown Jewels Display as tickets remain sold out in advance of their release. Due to this "excitement", the Ruskiana Republic has asked the pretender to the Imperial Throne to visit the treasures in the capital and to pose in full Regalia for a portrait that would promote the history of the country and the exhibit on an international scale. Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna duly agreed. Her family has not been welcome in the country since the Great War and this event sets new precedence with all exile laws being lifted.

Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Ruskiana poses with the Imperial Crown and wearing Imperial Rubies from her own Historic Collection. She stands regally in front of the last State Portrait of her great grandfather who technically was the last Tzar of all the Ruskias. 

The grand portrait was taken in the State Treasury Museum, the old Imperial Bodyguard Barracks adjacent to the Muscovi Palace in the Ruskian Capital. 

This poignant portrait captures the link in blood with the Ruskian past and its present. We hope this event is a precursor of many good things to come as relationships become friendlier between a people and it bitter history. 

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Hanoverian Container List of Jewellery Contents)

A mysterious container was handed over to the Duke of Swann on his State Visit to Hanoveria. The Grand Duke of Hanoveria, the Duke of Swann's cousin, discovered the container in the basement of a warehouse building earmarked for restoration and refurbishment as modern apartments.

SNN Lifestyle Feature Reporter Kitty Spice joined the Duke of Swann at his private residence in Hanoveria to discuss the story surrounding the container and its history and of course to report to the international public on the great "reveal"of its contents. Inside the now famous container was found a 1909 Rolls Royce discovered to be the property of the Duke of Swann's Great Grandfather and a sealed chest.

This sealed solid oak trunk was also found inside the container and it was agreed to open it separately as its contents might also be of historical significance.

What has been called the "Find of the Century" revealed a spectacular historical treasure. The long thought lost Crown Jewels of Ruskiana saw the light for the first time in over 70 years. In amongst the official crowns was as yet many other pieces of spectacular historic jewels. In this photo the Imperial Crown, an Iconic Cross in red pearls and some tiaras are clearly visible. The current pretender to the Ruskian Imperial throne and the Ruskian government were officially informed of the find and was allowed to participate in the investigation as to how the jewellery ended up in a forgotten warehouse. Today's post will reveal all the findings so far as to the exact contents of the chest and exactly how the story transpired. Let us take a look at the contents.

The primary piece of jewellery must be the historic and intrinsically valuable Imperial Crown of Ruskiana. It was made in 1789 by the Court Jeweler Bolinovich from Gold, Silver, Rubies and exceptionally large and valuable Diamonds.

The Ruskian peasants revered their monarchy and imbued it with an almost avatar-like status. Thus the Crown of the Tzar was seen as a holy object. When the Revolution broke out the military staged coup sought to procure the Crowns for propaganda purposes to prove to the people that the Tzar was just a man and that God had obviously no role in human society. The Crowns however went missing and were rumoured to have been taken during the chaos of Revolution by a group of monks who served the Tzar and his court in secret. This story became an almost folkloric myth and the whereabouts of the Crowns were entrusted to the "hands of God". The superstitious belief ingrained itself in the Ruskian rural peasant community who claimed that the Crown will resurface at the right time and proclaim a new Age of Kings. It is now clear that the Duke of Swann on tour in Europa in 1909-1910 managed to smuggled the Crown Jewels out of Ruskiana with the help of the Imperial Family just before the War and Revolution could lead to their destruction. 

The smaller Consort Crown of the Empress or Mother's Crown as it is affectionately termed was made as and indeed is seen as a smaller version of the Imperial Crown. It too was clandestinely procured from the Imperial Family for its salvation from increasing danger incited by anti-monarchists factions during the Great War. The crowns as Symbols of State are considered the property of the people of Ruskiana and will be returned to their native land to be entered into a museum exhibit in honour of the history of Ruskiana.

This Ruby Parure consisting of a sumptuous tiara set with diamonds and very large rubies, earrings and a brooch was thought to have been lost to history as no records of it exists in the archived catalogue of the Bolshevik Government who annexed whatever remained of the Imperial Jewels after the revolution. It was presumed like many pieces of jewelry to have merely been looted by soldiers but legends abound of servants and monks who hid pieces of sentimental or religious significance in the hope of an Imperial Restoration. The picture above shows the more fashionable aspects of the Imperial Rubies but the set includes another pair of earrings, two necklaces and a pectoral cross  employing very rare red pearls and cabochon ruby beads shown in the picture below. The large cross suspended from the necklace was a famous icon said to employ red pearls that gained their colour from being dyed in the wine that was made from water in one of Christ's miracles. This legend might have led spesifically to the Duke of Swann saving it for posterity. 

The more religious and traditional uncut ruby beads and iconic cross from the Imperial Ruby Parure. The Rubies are considered officially the property of Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna as the legal claimant to the inheritance of the last Tzar of Ruskiana.

This tiara was completely unknown to history upon its discovery in the chest. This was due to no memory or photo being known to anybody connected with the Ruskian Court of old. It is clearly Ruskian in style and being found in the trunk with the Imperial Crown Jewels means that it is significant enough to have some records somewhere. Some historic research from jewellery manufacturing archives and lists or inventories made by prominent Royals lead to a gemological link. A diary entry made by the Count Tolstoievski mentioned his intent to have a set of jewellery made from exceptional sapphires unearthed in the mine in his local town of Toltstoi. Gemological testing of the sapphires by the Duke of Swann in his Johannesburg Jewellery Workshops revealed there origin to be from the mine in the region of Tolstoi. Sapphires of this quality and size are extremely rare so general concencus is that they are the ones referred to in the diary. Final proof was found when the current Countess Tolstoievski produced a design sketch found amongst her grandmother's personal affects of the set made by a Pariseum jeweller in 1905. The sapphires will be returned to their rightful owners.

These emerald earring eluded all efforts to be identified. The Ruskian Government and the Countess Tolstoievski are in agreement that all unidentified pieces of the find will be sold at auction to raise money for a Ruskian charity of the choice of Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, the pretender to the Imperial Throne of Ruskiana.

Many tiaras were made at the turn of the last century and at that stage the saturation of design overflow lead to some jewellers to experiment with "new" ideas in order to keep clients interested. This led to the development of a specific look called "Tutti-Fruiti". The frivolous and colourful look is not everybody's cup of tea and considered to suit the slightly eccentric or bold. However its playful employ of rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds in combination is not entirely ugly and worn by the right person makes for a very effective display. This set could also not be traced to a particular owner and as such will be sold at auction.

That includes the entire list of this truly miraculous find. We look forward to report on the auction and also on the eventual display of the historic jewels in Ruskiana. We are also excited about seeing the Imperial Rubies blazing on the head of Grand Duchess Xenia as soon as she deems fit to wear her fortunate inheritance.

Fascinating Fridays (Orders of Knighthood Part 4)

We continue our Fascinating Friday series with Part 4 of the different Orders of Knighthood. If you have always wondered why Royalty often appear at very formal function wearing coloured sashes you will now find out. We have discussed the origin and rank of the title, Knight, in a former Fascinating Friday post. There are currently six active Orders of Knighthood and two Family Orders of Honour. They all rank in an order of precedence which ranks one above the other in prestige. Normally the date of the specific Order's founding gives it precedence over younger ones but also its exclusivity gives it higher prestige Last week we dealt with the Kingdom of Syldavias's Order of the Syldav Cross.

Today we will discuss the forth lowest ranking Order of Knighthood and it has its home in the Grand Duchy of Hanoveria.

We are now moving into the upper echelons of the Knighthood ranks but that does not mean that this more prestigious Knighthood is not without controversy. The Golden Order of the Polar Star and its sister Ruskian Order of the Polar Star has a single origin.  The Polar Star was the constellation that inspired the Ruskian Tzar Ivan the IX to explore the northern regions of the Ruskian ice covered arctic. He commissioned his youngest son with a blank cheque for this purpose and created an entirely new Order of Knighthood for his son Grand Duke Peter and the leading members of his expedition. Grand Duke Peter was to be the Grand Master and Proprietor of the order. Thus the original Order of the Polar Star was created. The young man availed himself of the task and the foundations for mapping and exploring the vast polar regions were thus set in stone. What was not planned however was that Grand Duke Peter would become the first Grand Duke of  a newly established independent Hanoveria. Upon his return to Ruskiana, the Grand Duke stopped over in Hanoveria who's ruling Grand Duke only had daughters. With the consent of his people, the Grand Duke married his eldest to the Ruskian Prince and declared him the heir to the throne. Grand Duke Paul arrived back at his own fathers court with a wife and a future domain of his own. The Order of the Polar Star thus became the official Order of Knighthood in Hanoveria.

A golden sash hung over the left shoulder and pinned with a badge set with a cluster of clear stones in the form of a stylised eight sided cross are the insignia for the Hanoverian Golden Order of the Polar Star. In the above picture we see the current Grand Ducal Family wearing the insignia. The badge is designed in such a way to strongly suggest a cluster of stars.

When Grand Duke Peter's elder brother became Tzar of Ruskia, his jealousy of his younger brother got the better of him and his revoked his Knighthood and declared the Order of the Polar Star a purely Ruskian  honour. The Tzar declared himself Grand Master and essentially set up a rival order. For years the two functioned as separate entities with many people ending up being members of both orders. 

To this day remnants of the two separate orders exist as the feuding rivals were only merged back into one in 2011. It was agreed at an Annual Knights gathering that Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna should relinquish her claims on the Polar Star as pretender to the Imperial Throne of Ruskiana. This was expected as a sign of goodwill and solidarity in order to present a united face in the surge of recent Royal popularity. In the picture above we can see the subtle differences in colour and badges between the Hanoverian (at left) and Ruskian (at right) insignia. It was agreed that members of the separated order will retain their individual insignia and that the united order will in future have two branches, the Golden Order of the Polar Star as the personal gift from the Grand Duke of Hanoveria and the standard order for merit in the fields of science, arts and socio-economic development. The head of the Ruskian Dynasty will retain a hereditary place within the order and preside over the sub-branch in trust of the Grand Duke of Hanoveria. 

A bright yellow sash hung over the left shoulder and pinned with a badge set with a cluster of white stones in the form of a square is the insignia of the former Ruskian Order of the Polar Star. Above we see Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna proudly displaying her insignia as former Grand Master of the Ruskian branch but now honoured with the new membership to the united order for her agreement to merge the two into one.

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (The World's Biggest Diamonds)

Royalty is always connected with spectacular jewellery steeped in history. In ages past, Royalty attracted amazing jewels like a magnet. They either gained it through, conquest, tribute, gifts, inheritance or just plain purchase. The link between the ruling class and jewellery will never be erased. Today it has become time to discuss this fantastic topic in the vein of a list of the world's largest diamonds. We will begin with the smallest and work our way up to the largest.

First up we have a brooch owned by the Imperial Family Trust which is the foundation that manages what used to be the Crown Jewels of the United Empire of Scot-Britania. Many pieces in this collection were destroyed by the 96 Revolution but Empress Crystobel also managed to save some of the most important and valuable pieces. 

The Star Diamond, set in the star shaped brooch worn by the Crown Princess Imperial as a Stomacher is a 45ct top quality specimen. Its origins are obscured by history as it has been in the possession of the monarchs of Scotney for near on a thousand years. It was first recorded in a "Lyst off the Crowne Jewels" in 1099. Legends claim that the stone was a gift to the nation of Scotney from the nuns of Arcwhite but no proof of this exists. Chemical analysis of the stone has revealed it to be of Normandian origin. 

Next we visit the private collection of the Baron D'Rothchild. 

This diamond is brand new as it was only mined in 2010. It has been dubbed the D'Rothchild Diamond and it is a above average quality 48cts stone. It was bought purely as a gift from the current Baron D'Rothchild to his wife. Gossip abounds of how it might have been a placation due to all the jewellery the Baron's mother sold off at auction, depleting the future jewellery stores of the family. 

The Kingdom of Hispania boasts some impressive diamonds in their Crown Jewel Collection. These are not the private property of the monarch or the Royal family but are kept in trust by the government for future generations of Royals and the nation as a whole. 

The King Carlos X Crown Diamonds Diadem is set with 9 large diamonds in the base, averaging 58cts each. The size of these diamonds may rate this tiara as one of the most valuable in the world. The tiara may be seen as the signature tiara for Hispania and its queens, be they regents or consorts. It is also often used as a sort of Consort Crown when the King's wife requires one. The diamonds were a gift from the former Hispanian colony of  Peru on the celebration of their independence in 1919. The amicable relations between the nations made for this gift to be a poignant one and has afforded this tiara its historic status. 

Ruskiana as a country that boasts vast natural wealth of which their diamond deposits are considered to be the second most abundant in the world. It stands to reason that we will see several diamonds in this post with a Ruskian connection.

Some of the Youssopoff family jewels haven't been seen since before the Great War much less the 96 Revolution and some might even have been sold. This demi-parure, consisting of earrings and necklace was allowed to be documented specifically for this blog post. The Youssopoff  Marquis Cut Diamond demi-parure consists of three large oblong shaped diamonds with an average size of  59cts each. The current Princess has only worn the earrings once, baffling the public as rumours of these stones were all that existed. Chemical analysis of the stones reveal their Ruskian origin and the manufacture of the jewellery and the stone cutting techniques place the set's manufacture around the early 1800's. Now we just have to wait until they are worn by our style diva, Princess Kirsten.

The former Empire of Perlistan displayed vast wealth and grandeur at its court in the ages preceding the 96 Revolution. Suffice it to say that to this day, hints of that glory remain, partly in museums and dispersed over the world and partly still in the inheritance of the current pretender to the Imperial Peacock Throne. 

An ancient legend tells of how the great warrior Emperor Shah Ahurah killed a dragon in the year 989 and discovered a huge diamond in its belly. As the red hot stone cooled it was said to break into 4 parts that ended up being known to history as the Perlistan Diamonds. Today, three of those stones the Perlistan II, III and IV, weighing 65cts, 34cts and 31cts are set in the Pahlavi Tiara owned by the Shahbanou Farah of Perlistan. 

The Hispanian Ducal Family of Aragon owns a large diamond not of Europan origin. 

The 72cts Star of South Africania Diamond was mined in the 1920's and used to belong to the wealthy Van Der Bilt Family. Before the Van Der Bilt heiress, Gloria, even knew that she would end up becoming Queen of Normandia she was still the head of the vast family fortune. Sometimes even the very wealthy are in need of ready cash and in 2009 this calamity hit Gloria Van Der Bilt. She needed liquid cash for an immediate business venture and as such decided to sell some jewellery to raise the funds. She opted for the so called Van Der Bilt Diamond Collar containing the famous The Star of South Africania Diamond. The extremely valuable set was sold with its matching earrings in a private sale raising the much needed cash flow. As the sale of the necklace was private, it wasn't even known by the public that it was sold. It was later however revealed along with its new owner when the Hispanian, Duchess of Aragon wore her new set to a movie premiere in 2009.

The Islands of Arcwhite have at times attracted many tributes of jewellery. The Islands location made it a stop on many shipping routes and as such many gems ended up in their coffers or in turn were taken away by raiding forces. In modern times, the vast corporate wealth of the Order of the Veil have allowed the office of the Lady Arcwhite to own and display some truly valuable pieces of jewellery. 

The Perlistan Diamond or Perlistan I, is the 74cts, and largest piece of the before mentioned Perlistani Crown Diamonds. The Pahlavi necklace containing the Perlistan I is rumoured to be one of the most expensive necklaces ever made and is sure to get most of the attention whenever it is worn. This very famous necklace acquired by the current Lady Arcwhite from the Shahbanou of Perlistan, exiled after the Bloody Revolution toppled that monarchy.

Lady Arcwhite also owns a large Brown Diamond known as the Pirate's Eye. 

The Arcwhite Brown Diamond Tiara is set with the tenth largest Diamond in the world. Nr 10 - is the 75ct  Pirate's Eye. The diamonds is reputed to be cut from a single stone along with the other brown diamonds that form part of the Hanoverian Brown Diamond Parure to be discussed next. This has never been verified through chemical analysis. The Pirate's Eye came to Arcwhite when a raiding fleet of pirates attempted to ransack the Monasery of the Veil on Arcwhite in 1690. They failed miserably and ended up losing their treasure to the nuns rather than adding the nuns treasure to their spoils. The stone was said to have been won in a gamble that a Hispanian Prince lost to the Pirate Captain. 

Hanoveria's Grand Ducal Crown Jewels include the 9th largest Diamond in the world and a smaller sister stone. 

Nr 9 - is the 78cts Hanoverian Brown Diamond set in the parure with the same name and coupled with its 69cts sister stone set in the necklace. HRH Princess Beatrice of Scotney received the Brown Diamond Tiara with a brooch bearing the twin brown stone on her 18^th birthday as her first Tiara, from her father Prince Christopher, Duke of Norrington. He received the brown diamonds as part of his inheritance as a Prince of the Blood of Hispania upon his marriage to Queen Crystobel I of Scotney. Princess Beatrice married the Grand Duke of Hanoveria and the Brown Diamonds followed her to become part of the extensive Hanoverian jewellery collection.

The Kingdom of Normandia had the benefit of the Van Der Bilt jewellery being amalgamated to the country's Crown Jewel Collection when Gloria Van Der Bilt became their Queen. 

Mined in the 1920's is Nr 8 - the 86cts Van Der Bilt Cognac Diamond. The Van Der Bilt Diamond Necklace, was made especially to contain the famous diamond. This stone has been in the Van Der Bilt Family for almost a hundred years since Queen Gloria's grand father bought it in the late 1920's and gave it as a gift to his wife, many say for penitence for his many marital indiscretions. Gloria inherited the stone upon her father's death and now wears it as Queen of Normandia.

Back in Hispania we find the 7th largest diamond and largest brown coloured diamond as part of the Hispanian Crown jewels.

Nr 7 - is the 90cts Shard of Dusk Diamond. In the days of the Hispanian conquest of the South Americanians many legends emerged of fabulous cities of gold, gargantuan gem stones and mythical creatures. Very few were founded in fact but some did have measures of truth. diamonds are not readily found in the South Americanias but they do exist. This specimen is of a rare smokey colour and quite large. It was reputed to be a ceremonial offering brought annually to the Sun Temple in order for it to refract the light of the holy sun. When the Conquistadors arrived in their armour, blazingly reflecting the light, the indigenous people offered up the stone to them and it found its way to the Hispanian Court. It is today rarely worn as some controversy surrounds the call for its return to its native land. In the photo above, Princess Isabella wore it in 2009 to a movie premiere and made news headlines for it. 

The very wealthy Duke of Swann was sure to be found on this list as much for his appreciation of jewellery as for his inheritance of the spectacular Swann Crown Jewel Collection.

The Swann I is Nr 5 - at 162cts and the Swann II is Nr 11 - at 69cts on our list of large diamonds. The famous "Swann Diamond" is set in the centre of the Swann Tiara and its smaller "sister" stone in the necklace. This set hasn't been worn since the last Duchess of Swann wore it before the Bloody Revolution but remains as part of the Swanobian Crown Jewels. The diamond's chemical analysis shows that it was mined in Normandia and it first appeared in history in the 1700's as part of the Scotney Crown Jewels. It was then given to the Prince who became the first semi-independent Duke of Swann upon his accession to the newly created throne. 

The United Empire of Scot-Britania's Crown jewel Collection is currently managed by the Imperial Family Trust headed up by Empress Crystobel. It acts as curator of the jewels in the hope of a future restoration of the monarchy. 

 Nr 4 - the 201cts Imperial Diamond and Nr 6 - the 158cts Star of Africania are massive stones indeed and form part of the Imperial Diamond Parure. The original earrings that matched the set were lost in the revolution but at least major diamonds survived along with the Tiara and necklace. 

The Imperial Diamond Tiara set with the 6th largest diamond in the world was thought destroyed in the revolution but after not being seen for over 12years, was worn by the current Crown Princess Imperial at her wedding in 2010. The Imperial Diamond entered the Imperial collection set in the tiara of the same name as a tribute from the Trans Europan Council to the new Empire as a belated thank you for the sacrifices made by the nations of Scotney and Britania during the Great War. The tiara was originally made for the Germanic Kaizer's wife who never wore it as that monarchy was toppled for starting the Great War. The necklace was made to compliment the tiara using the world famous Star of Africania Diamond that was purchased by the King of Britania for his son as a wedding present in 1986. The two stones have not been worn together in public since the revolution but was worn for the portrait above only. 

The Diamond with the most obscure origin is in the Crown Jewels of Swann Collection.

The Nr 3 - 223cts Tear of the Swan Diamond is named for the discovery of the diamond. A maid in Dukes Court Palace broke a medieval porcelain statuette of a dying swan in 2005 by accident. The priceless artifact however revealed the diamond which immediately compensated for the historic loss of the statuette. The Duke of Swann's Office of Historical Research has to as yet discover the story behind the statuette and the diamond but for now it is set in a necklace and kept in the vaults of the Crown Jewels. It has never been worn. 

This stone has one of the most contravertial histories of all valuable and historic gems in the world.

The Ruskian Imperial Collection, currently the private property of the pretender to the Ruskian Imperial Throne, boasts the second largest diamond in the world. It also ranks as the largest pink diamond in the world.

Nr 2 - the 341cts Tzar Nicholas I Pink Diamond is complimented in this photo by the 38cts and 36cts diamond drop earrings, also in the Imperial Collection. One of the only official pieces that belonged to an actual Empress Consort to survive the Great War and fall of the Ruskian Empire is the very famous and spectacular Tzar Nikolas I Pink Diamond Kokoshnik tiara. It could be seen as the premier and symbolically the most Ruskian of all the jewellery that survived the Ruskian Revolution. The Diamond was the central feature of the Imperial Crown Jewels. Legend has it that the Perlistani Sultan had a genie create the unnaturally large coloured diamond in order to flatter and tempt the Tzar into an armistice. The Tzar however gained it through drawing the Sultan into a sword match that cost him the stone and a finger. The diamond was set in the Tzar's Crown but following a decade of bad luck had it removed claiming that the Sultan had cursed it with its pink colour in order that a man could never wear it and be blessed as a man. Since then it was set in its current place in this tiara which was then seen as one of the many tiaras only worn by Empress Consorts. The Tiara was thought lost after the Ruskian Revolution but in reality was sent by Tzar Ivan X, the last reigning Emperor of Ruskia for repairs to the Court Jeweller weeks before the Revolution exploded in full force. The jeweller escaped with it to Franconia and kept it there in secret. He left it in his will to the nearest legal claimant to the throne of Ruskia and after his death in 1998 it was delivered to the Grand Duke of Hanoveria by his lawyers who in turn passed it on to his niece Xenia Alexandrovna.

The largest diamond in the world is part of the Crown Jewel Collection of the former United Empire of Scot Britania. 

Nr 1 - the 525cts Morning Star Diamond is the largest and also top quality white diamond in the world. It resides as the central feature in the Imperial Scepter of the United Empire of Scot-Britania. The Diamonds origins do not reside in the far recesses of history but are rather very recent. The stone was discovered mere months before the establishment of the new Empire and as such was purchased for the new co-Emperor and co-Empress as an Coronation Gift by the government of Scot-Britania with financial assistance from several friendly monarchies within Europa. It was handed over to the Imperial couple on the day the new constitutional Empire was established

This detail photo of the head of the Imperial Scepter shows the scale of the amazing stone that was discovered in the bush near a South Africanian mine.