Royal Jewels

[Sithathoriunet]

Date: 10/10/2008 2:58:05 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
I think this thread on royal jewels is turning into a thread on historical jewels, and that''s perfectly fine with me!! I''m learning so much looking at all this jewelry from times gone by.

YES! and i love it!! lol...but aren''t most of the royal jewels even from the beginning of this thread historical although obviously newer then these ones?
i mean we''ve seen jewels are mostly handmedowns in the royal families...and i think that is great!
jenna

 

[Sithathoriunet]

this spectacular ancient solid gold collar depicts gods, and mythical creatures in battle. see the close up detail i put in...what amazing workmanship the royals of old enjoyed. the standard of jewel making in ancient times has never been equaled. each piece telling a story and making sure the eye never tires of gazing at these fabulous pieces!

 

[Sithathoriunet]

and just for fun, some happy colourful sapphires that may or may not end up becoming ''royal jewels''! but they sure are yummy enough to be!
jenna

 

[Sithathoriunet]

Part of the famed "Bactrian hoard" of treasures, a folding gold crown dating from the first century A.D.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

Gold plaque showing a nomad warrior lying under a tree with his head in a woman''s lap. He wears two swords and his guard holds his horses reins. This object was said to have been found in Siberia and was made part of Peter the Great''s collection in the Hermitage in 1859.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

An ancient headdress ornament that was made in the 4th century BC. It features a stag surrounded by deer like animals. While it is not clear precisely how the object was worn, the variety of styles evident in the animals and other objects indicate that there were influences from various cultures that impacted its sophisticated design. A pair of gold temple ornaments from 400 to 350 BC. The two riders on horses with elongated legs that reach down to wheels of carriages were worn hung on a crown of diadem.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

A gold necklace with turtles was one of five necklaces found on the body in one of the graves discovered at Vani. The Colchians apparently loved jewelry. Four other necklaces of varying lengths that were worn simultaneously including one decorated with swastikas. That symbol was common in the ancient world by the end of the second century BC. The word in ancient Sanskirt meant "well being" and the symbol was present in artifacts discovered at the site of ancient Troy.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

Four gold armbands: from the Achaemenid period of mid 5th century B.C with calves’ heads, feline shaped finials and gazelle. Achaemined was the king of Cyprus and established the Persian empire. His successors later conquered areas around the Black Sea. These armbands look to be imports from his empire.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

This crown of pure gold is adorned with delicate filigree and striking emeralds, rubies, and pearls. It is topped by a cross, and the bottom is rimmed in sable. According to legend, it was sent, along with other insignia of imperial power, by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomakh to his grandson, Prince Vladimir of Kiev. According to existing documents, the Hat of Monomakh was first employed at the coronation of the grandson of Ivan III, Tsar Dmitry, in 1498. It was last used in 1682 at the coronation of Tsar Ivan Alexeyevich, the elder brother of Peter the Great.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

an ancient gold bracelet...i have found no information on it at all, but it is beautiful..

 

[Sithathoriunet]

Scythian Gold depicting weapons and dress of Scythian Warriors
5th Century BC

 

[Sithathoriunet]

Gold was considered to be the skin of the ancient Egyptian gods, but their bones were thought to be of silver.

At the onset of recorded history, silver may have been unknown to the ancient Egyptians. They could obtain gold and even electrum, which was a natural alloy of silver and gold from the mountains of the Eastern Desert and Nubia, but the Egyptian language at first lacks a word for silver. They described it only as the "white metal", and when they did run across it, they seem to have regarded it as a variety of gold.

When silver was finally introduced into Egypt, it probably was more valuable than gold. It continued to be rare, and on lists of valuables, items of silver were listed above those of gold during the Old Kingdom. Jewelry made of silver was almost always thinner than gold pieces, as indicated by the bracelets of the 4th Dynasty queen Hetephere I, in marked contrast to the extravagance of her gold jewelry. A silver treasure excavated at the site of Tod comprised vessels probably made in Crete, or perhaps somewhere in Asia but under Cretan influence. This cache dates to the reign of Amenemhat II who ruled during the 12th Dynasty, and is roughly contemporaneous with the finds of fine silver jewelry at el-Lahun and Dahshur.

 

[VRBeauty]

I just stumbled upon this thread, and checked out a few pages even though it's waaaay past late and I should be off to bed. Thank you LadyAmythyst for starting it, and thanks to Sithathoriunet and others who have contributed to what looks like 70 pages or so worth of great pictures and gossip.

I'm looking forward to catching up to the rest of you over the next few weeks! I'm especially looking forward to seeing what the royals of Holland are (my birth country) are wearing!

 

[T L]

Sithathoriunet,
Didn''t Queen Cleopatra have a great love of emeralds and she wore several pieces with emeralds, or what she thought were emeralds? I can''t find any existing pictures of her jewels.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

tourmaline lover, hi!!...cleopatra, the last queen of egypt apparently had a great love of emeralds..she was famous for her emerald mines of ancient egypt. these mines were famous because of the top quality and huge quantity of emeralds they produced. they were located again recently but were found to have had been tapped out long ago, and now they yield only lower quality gems..
Of course, the Egyptians also mined different gemstones, such as amethyst at Wadi el-Hudi and Gebel el-Asr, and turquoise at Wadi Mughara and Serabit el-Khadim. Egypt is where the worlds first emerald mine is located, in the mountain valley of Wadi Sikait in the Eastern Desert. It was mined as early as the Ptolemaic Cleopatra''s Emerald Mine near Marsa Alamperiod. The Romans later referred to emeralds as Smaragdus, and named the Sikait region Mons Smaragdus, or Emerald Mountain. Another site was Wadi Gamal, near Marsa Alam, which latter earned the name Cleopatra''s Emerald Mine.
here is a photo of the famous cleopatra''s emerald mine!

 

[Sithathoriunet]

Emerald Lore

Emerald''s lush green has soothed souls and excited imaginations since antiquity. Its name comes from the ancient Greek word for green, "smaragdus." Pliny the Elder described emerald in his Natural History, published in the first century AD: "...nothing greens greener" was his verdict. He described the use of emerald by early lapidaries, who "have no better method of restoring their eyes than by looking at the emerald, its soft, green color comforting and removing their weariness and lassitude." Even today the color green is known to relieve stress and eye strain.

Legends gave emerald the power to make its wearer more intelligent and quick-witted. It was once believed to cure diseases like cholera and malaria. Its color reflects new spring growth, which makes perfect choice of a birthstone for the month of May. It''s also the gemstone for twentieth and thirty-fifth wedding anniversaries.

History

The first known emerald mines were in Egypt, dating from at least 330 BC into the 1700s. Cleopatra was known to have a passion for emerald, and used it in her royal adornments.

Mogul Emerald

Emeralds from what is now Colombia were part of the plunder when sixteenth-century Spanish explorers invaded the New World. The Indians had already been using emeralds in their jewelry and religious ceremonies for 500 years. The Spanish, who treasured gold and silver far more than gems, traded emeralds for precious metals. Their trades opened the eyes of European and Asian royalty to emerald''s majesty.

Emerald is often mined and sold under peril - the natural resource Colombians cherish is also coveted by underworld drug traders. The availability of fine-quality emerald is limited, and emerald was plagued in the late 1990s by negative publicity about treatments commonly used to improve its clarity.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

When you think of precious stones, what comes to mind? Beauty, wealth, sophistication, magical powers, healing powers? It is most likely that the Emerald would find a home in each of these niches.

The Emerald is the birthstone for the month of May. Appropriate because in the month of May, much like the color of an emerald, the leaves on the trees have burst forth a brilliant green, flowers have pushed their green stems and leaves through the soil, and the brown grass of winter has turned bright green. Simple beauty.

Emeralds, although by themselves are beautiful and elegant, in a crowd of other gems, stand out. The emerald is one of but a few gemstones lustrous enough to sparkle even in the dim light of a candle.

Emeralds are found in many shapes and sizes; small enough for a child’s tiny ring, ranging all the way to 2,680 carats found in the History of Art Museum in Vienna.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

Some believe the emerald aids in the recovery of many ailments, such as sinus problems, lungs, the heart. It is also believed to relieve arthritis and diabetes, as well as having the power to detoxify the liver. Julius Caesar was especially fond of emeralds and collected them, believing in their powers as medicinal remedies. An especially valuable emerald weighing 225 carats and bearing an engraved portrait of Julius Caesar now resides in the United States.

To benefit the most, it is said that one should wear the emerald on the little finger, the ring finger, over the heart or on the right arm.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

It was thought that the emerald was a family of gemstones by itself, but Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD), a Roman naturalist determined that the emerald is a member of the beryl family of gemstones. It was established in the nineteenth century that Pliny was correct.

It is chromium oxide that is important to the extraordinary green coloring of the emerald. Trace elements of iron and vanadium, which frequently are found with chromium, can create yellow and bluish tints.

Despite the apparent hardness of the emerald, it is, in fact, more sensitive than other gemstones. Therefore special care is required in the handling and wearing of emeralds.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

this is known as the ''lost portrait of cleopatra''...Cleopatra -engraving in steel after the Encaustic Painting of Sorrento . John Sartain (c.1880)

 

[Sithathoriunet]

Emeralds were amongst the earliest gemstones traded by mankind, since the 5th millennium B.C. Prominent in ancient Babylon''s gemstone markets, one of the earliest source for these precious gemstones were Egyptian emerald mines near the Red Sea, first worked in the 3rd millennium B.C. The Greeks worked the same mines from the time Alexander the Great conquered Egypt. The last ruler of the Greek Ptolemaic Dynasty in Egypt, Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt, was often depicted and described wearing fabulous emeralds. Emeralds were the most prized of the Russian Crown Jewels during the centuries long-rule of successive Russian Czars. Though the world''s best emeralds are generally regarded as being Colombian, emeralds are also produced in Brazil, Pakistan, Russia, India, throughout Africa, and in North Carolina. Russian Siberian emerald production is notable for the very large specimens unearthed, albeit of lower quality.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

hello all!!!
i love coming here to this thread and chatting with you all! i feel as if i''ve been a part of it all for longer then i actually have. so, forgive me if i indulge myself for a moment, we all know how much we LOVE LOVE LOVE jewels! and since finding great pics of royals wearing their jewels can be a difficult task, i thought i''d love to show you all a few it''s not so hard to get pics of...they are my own..and although i''m not royal...don''t let that make you think less of the jewels! LOL! so, first i''m posting a pic of me, first so you can all see me! and second so you can have an idea of the scale of these pieces i have ...the pectoral is the reproduction i had done in egypt of the royal princess sithathoriunet''s piece, and it''s a joy to have....you can also see in this pic, the reproduction of the royal bracelet of queen ahhotep..both of these pieces are reproduced in 22 karat solid gold and are fully hand made and fully hand set with the stones lapis, carnelian and turquoise...the rings i have on i''ll add some other pics of for you..but if you can see them ok they are a ruby and diamond piece, ruby is 8 carats, a sapphire ring, sapphire is 7 carats, and an emerald...just for all you emerald lovers! it''s 4 carats.
enjoy!

 

[Sithathoriunet]

here is a shot of the 4 carat emerald and diamond ring, in 14 karat gold.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

if i had to say, this ring i think is my fav..i just adore sapphires..this sapphire is 7 carats..YUM

 

[Sithathoriunet]

and here is the ruby...............

 

[Sithathoriunet]

here they are all together...happy little rings.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

eye candy makes a woman''s fingers happy!!!!! LOL

 

[Sithathoriunet]

so, i''m happy to have been able to quickly share a hello and a look see with everyone..maybe if you all like, we could all post a pic of our jewels!!! just for fun! after all...emeralds, rubies and sapphires don''t need to be on a royal to be royal now, do they??????
love jenna many thanks for allowing me to indulge for a moment!

 

[Sithathoriunet]

all snazzed up and going out for dinner with the hubby now, i''ll post you all tomorrow! love, jenna

 

[Sithathoriunet]

btw, the large round red stone you see me wearing around my neck is a large red carnelian hung on a necklace of capped amethyst beads....forgot about that one! sorry!......bye bye for now..