History is an important part of who and what we are in the present. As beautiful and innovative modern jewelry can be, antique and historical jewelry is unique and carries a lot of history behind, as you will see in the following pages..jpg)
The House of Romanov was the second and last imperial dynasty to rule over Russia, reigning from 1613 until the 1917 overthrow of the monarchy during the February Revolution.
The reign of Nicholas II (1894-1917) is associated with the zenith of the Russian decorative arts. After the fall of the Empire, a huge number of objects in precious metals were melted down to produce the first Soviet coinage. The bullion used to strike tens of millions of silver and gold coins between 1921 and 1924 had its primary source in confiscated silver and gold. This explains the rarity of gold and silver wares of the period on the market today in general, and of larger and heavier pieces in particular.
An unknown number of fine objects from private collections ended up in state museums. Almost everything of value, ranging from jewelry to books, went to the state vaults.
The 1917 Revolution and the Civil War almost completely eradicated those items which displayed Imperial insignia, ciphers, and portraits of members of the Imperial family. In 1920’s and early 1930’s, the state, desperate for cash, organized a number of auctions at which porcelain, glass, bronze, carpets, books, and furniture from the Imperial palaces were sold to general public. For this reason, some pieces which belonged to the Imperial family are still available today.
Since 1998, Romanov Russia Ltd sold thousands of high-end Russian Imperial antiques and Faberge objects to private collectors, investors, art funds, and museums (including the Metropolitan in NY).
An interesting antique Russian silver cigarette case with gold and enamel appliques from the World War I period. The case belonged to American Red Cross surgeon General Dr. Philip Newton.
At the beginning of the war, General Newton was in charge of American Red Cross ambulance truck shipments from US to Russia. Around 1915, he entered the Russian military service in the rank of a General. Interestingly, Philip Newton was the youngest General of the Russian Imperial Army at that time. He was 27 or 28 years old. General Newton served as a commander of the motorized Red Cross American brigade under the patronage of Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna (daughter of tsar Nicholas II). He personally knew Grand Duchesses, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Gregory Rasputine.
Philip Newton received several Imperial Russian military awards, including St Anna sword with inscription FOR BRAVERY, Order of St Anna 3rd class with swords, Order of St Vladimir 4th class with swords.
On January 22, 1915, Philip Newton married Russian Princes Helen Shahofkaya, who volunteered to serve as a nurse in a Kievian hospital, which was operated by the American Society.
They left Russia in the late 1917.
It was popular in the early 20th century, to decorate cigarette cases with small emblems which were meaningful to their owners. Such emblems were custom made by jewelers.
The lid is applied in the center with a gold and enamel seal of Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.) flanked by enameled gold Russian and American flags, a gold cipher of Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna (T and H beneath Imperial crown), two gold and red guilloche enamel crosses with swords of the Orders of St Anna and St Vladimir, a gold symbol of medicine - caduceus, and a gold American eagle.
Antique Russian Imperial Era Double Cufflinks made in St Petersburg between 1908 and 1917
These superb quality antique cufflinks are handcrafted in 56 zolotniks (14K) rose gold, and embellished with blue translucent guilloche enamel.
Each enameled disc is set with a brilliant diamond.
A Pair of Antique Gold Mounted Carved Malachite Cufflinks made in Russia between 1908 and 1917:
A finely modeled gold, silver, silver-gilt, and enamel pendant (jeton) in the form of a parade helmet of the Life Guard Horse Regiment of His Majesty (czar Nicholas II was Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment), circa 1900. 
Antique Russian Imperial Presentation Gold Pocket Watch by Pavel Bure (Paul Buhre), circa 1899.
A Highly Important World War I Russian Imperial presentation GUN METAL cigarette case by Carl Faberge.
The lid is applied with a round gunmetal medallion and a silver Cyrillic monogram.
Apparently, this is the only known Faberge GUN METAL case with inscription WAR 1914.
The ring is designed in Russian MODERN style of the 1910s with a medieval Byzantine double headed eagle.
After the fall of the Byzantine empire in the 15th century, Russia adopted the Byzantine double headed eagle as its state emblem. Over the following centuries, the state eagle was modified several times, but in the 1910s, the original Byzantine eagle was revived in decorative arts.
The ring was made in St. Petersburg by Faberge’s workmaster Vladimir Solovyov.
Text and photos: RomanovRussia.com
