Tatiana's Necklace

[Laura Mabee]

The necklace in the picture looks like a diamond necklace. The necklaces that they had from babyhood are different. Lanie did an amazing colourization of a picture where you can see these necklaces here

[Margarita Markovna]

The necklace in the picture looks like a diamond necklace. The necklaces that they had from babyhood are different. Lanie did an amazing colourization of a picture where you can see these necklaces here

I've seen that colorization before. I actually had it as my desktop and I made my whole family look at it.  

[Robby]

No, those were the pearl necklaces they're seen wearing from babyhood.

Is that true Lanie? The look if there are stones in it, the do not look like pearls.

[Lanie]

Robby, I was talking about different necklaces than the ones of the picture I posted.  They had pearl necklaces that they nearly almost always wore; these are different, and we're trying to figure out what type of stone they could be!  They definitely look light-colored, at least...

[JediDeshka]

I thought each of the Grand Duchesses got a diamond and a pearl from Alexandra on their birhdays. Once they reached sixteen, a necklace was made out of said diamonds and pearls. I don't know where I heard that.  

[Lanie]

I thought each of the Grand Duchesses got a diamond and a pearl from Alexandra on their birhdays. Once they reached sixteen, a necklace was made out of said diamonds and pearls. I don't know where I heard that.  

I think people get confused because you only see them wearing pearl necklaces.  Maybe they had two necklaces made, or something; but they never seem to wear any diamonds!

[grandduchess_42]

lanie do you have the whole picture?

[Lanie]

Emily,

I do, but it's massive! � Let me go upload it and link it.

Here's a link: http://img34.imageshack.us/my.php?image=olyatanya191343lv.jpg

Click on the image itself to make it larger.

[Sarushka]

According to Robert Massie:
"At Livadia in 1911, to celebrate the sixteenth birthday of her oldest daughter, Grand Duchess Olga, the Empress gave a full-dress ball. Before the dance, Olga's parents gave her a diamond ring and a necklace of thirty-two diamonds and pearls. These were Olga's first jewels, intended to symbolize her coming into young womanhood."

Since she was 16, and 16x2=32, I'm strongly inclined to believe this is the necklace she'd been accumulating stones for since her birth. (As Ritka mentioned above). I would have sworn a pearl and a diamond were added each year. I'm quite certain I ran across a passage somewhere about Alix's frugality and/or difficulty with changing court traditions, that referenced the issue of accumulating jewels for the girls' necklaces. On the other hand, I know I've seen photos of the girls in which they're quite young, wearing very short pearl necklaces, like Lanie mentioned. (And Lanie's rarely led us astray!)

Unfortunately, I'm away from home with only FoTR & Nicholas and Alexandra to refer to. I'm suspicious the passage I'm thinking of might be in Greg King's bio of Alix...
Sm

[nerdycool]

The number for the necklace would have been 48, as for their birthday, each of the girls recieved 2 pearls instead of only one. (Imagine how long it would take if they'd only recieved 1 a year. The goal was for each of them to have a full string of pearls, meaning pearls all the way around, by the time they married... or at least came into society.) But, I don't think they were combined with diamonds though on her 16th birthday, because later on, we see pics of her wearing just a pearl necklace. Instead, the pearl and diamond necklace could have been something entirely new.

Here's one of the most notable of these pictures.
http://www.livadia.org/mashka/images/otma1915_1.jpg

[grandduchess_42]

The number for the necklace would have been 48, as for their birthday, each of the girls recieved 2 pearls instead of only one. (Imagine how long it would take if they'd only recieved 1 a year. The goal was for each of them to have a full string of pearls, meaning pearls all the way around, by the time they married... or at least came into society.) But, I don't think they were combined with diamonds though on her 16th birthday, because later on, we see pics of her wearing just a pearl necklace. Instead, the pearl and diamond necklace could have been something entirely new.

Here's one of the most notable of these pictures.
http://www.livadia.org/mashka/images/otma1915_1.jpg

o ok now i get it. thanks... i heard that they did somthing like that. i read it in the royal diary book of nastya.

[Sarushka]

Nerdycool --

I'm not clear on your figures. 2 pearls a year adds up to 32 stones by age sixteen.  If you mean 2 pearls and 1 diamond a year, that's 48.

At any rate, there are certainly more than 32 stones visible in the photo Lanie posted, which rules out my idea of that necklace being the birthday gift Robert Massie mentioned.

I'm so muddled! But tomorrow I'll be home with all my books, so I'll do a little searching & then post some photos (including the one of the young GDs wearing the very short strings of pearls).
Sm

[nerdycool]

  Oops... I forgot to mention that I was talking about the 2 pearls and diamond together.

[grandduchess_42]

Oops... I forgot to mention that I was talking about the 2 pearls and diamond together.

right thats ok. so they got two pearls and a diamond. i read in that royal diary book that they got alowences.

[Laura Mabee]

i read in that royal diary book that they got alowences.

Quite possible, but remember, the "Royal Diary" book series are not fact!