Imperial gold jewellery generally refers to jewellery that was and is created for royalty to wear on state occasions. One of the best collections of imperial royal jewellery has to hail from Russia, where many pieces are still on show in the Museum of Faberge. Imperial gold jewellery was just another way for royalty to demonstrate its status in society.

It was Peter I, Emperor of Russia that first founded the Russian State Diamond Fund of the Russian Federation. Peter had travelled widely throughout Europe and wanted to emulate what he saw on his travels back in his home country. As well as building somewhere to house all these imperial jewels, Peter decreed that each Emperor and Empress should leave some of their jewels to the Russian state for the permanent glory of the
Empire and this is how the Russian Imperial gold collection developed.

The first imperial crown was made in 1762 and is decorated with five thousand diamonds in the pattern of laurel wreaths and oak branches. The crown is also topped with a spinel, which is the second largest in the world and weighs just 400 carats. The Sceptre that goes with this crown contains the world famous Orlov diamond, weighing in at 189 carats.

Russia had so many imperial treasures and in order to keep them safe during the First World War they were shipped to Moscow and kept there in a vault. In 1926 when the vault was reopened many of the pieces were given to Christie’s Auction House in London and sold to various bidders around the world. This beautiful collection was torn apart and the location of some pieces still remains a mystery.