Lavishly illustrated, this history of the late Romanovs through their jewels and gifts offers an insider's look at the personal and fashion history of this powerful and tragic family. (Reviewed in Russian Life)

If you like books about royal jewels like me then this book is for you. The pictures are beautiful and the book is full of great information.

If you like books about royal jewels like me then this book is for you. The pictures are beautiful and the book is full of great information.

While the subject of the Imperial Crown Jewels has not yet been exhausted, and this book assembles for the first time a large portion of the former collections, Prince Michael of Greece is not an Historian, gemologist, or specialist in decorative arts.

While this book, like his others, has a romantic and lyric chronology enhanced by the ruthless dropping in of uncorroborated family lore, these personal titbits are less interesting that the pieces themselves who have been done a disservice by inadequate research and fact-checking.

Page after page of this book are riddled with errors, inconsistencies and projections. Aigrettes are called brooches, diadems called chokers, the immense value of colored diamonds emphasized, which the actual stones shown are foiled to impart color. Members of the family are misidentified, the structure of the Diamond Fund misstated, and recreations misrepresented.

Do buy this books for the marvelous photographs, many taken orginially for inclusion in the "Jewels of the Romanovs" Show catalogue at the Corcoran Gallery, but which was never published in full.

Very beautiful and well written. Lots of information on Russia's history and beautiful pictures of the families and jewels. If you are interested in Russian history and gem stones, this is a very good book.

This is an excellent look at the jewels and other fine objects of the Tsars and their families. The quality of the paper and the feel of the book is rich too. A pleasure to read and enjoy.

I have not seen the book but wanted to comment on the editorial comments.
Prince Michael's Grandmother was Queen Olga of Greece, born a Grand Duchess of Russia but she was not a sister of Nicholas II. Olga's father and Nicholas II's grandfather were brothers. Thus Olga was a cousin to Nicholas II's father, Alexander III and therefore Olga and Nicholas II were second cousins. Prince Michael is a Prince of Greece and Denmark as his grandfather, King George I of Greece (Olga's husband) was born in Denmark as the second son of King Christian IX of Denmark and was elected King of Greece in March of 1863, thus becoming the King of Greece as a 17 year old prior to his father becoming King of Denmark in November of the same year, 1863. The Great Powers of Europe were looking for a new King for Greece when Vilhelm (his Danish name) was noticed at the March 1863 wedding of his older sister, Alexandra, when she married the Prince of Wales, son of Queen Victoria, and later King Edward VII. King George also had a sister (born Dagmar in Denmark) who married Alexander III of Russia, and were the parents of Nicholas II. This Michael's father Christopher was a first cousin to King George as well, making Michael a second cousin to Tsar Nicholas II through his father. Obviously one needs a "score card" to keep track of European Royalty as most of them are related to each other one way or another as in the past royalty was only allowed to marry royalty. Fortunately that has changed over the last several generations and it would appear that ALL of the heirs to the crowns of Europe have indeed married for love, and almost all of them have married commoners.

This book wasn't very expensive but it wasn't that good either. If you collect jewelry books like me you will already have all the pictures. If you are buying other books at this price it may be worth an add on but dont expect to much. The photos are of medium quality and the text is poor.

The Romanov ladies, dressed for a court function, dripped precious gemstones from top to toe, each Grand Duchess trying to outdo another in grandeur. Most of that jewelry has been lost, sold, the stones removed. Those who escaped the Revolution were lucky if they managed to take a small collection of their jewels with the, and most had to sell what they brought into exile to support themselves -- after they had written and sold their memoirs, that is. The memoirs of those who saw the Russian court in all its splendour, however, make it clear that the jewelry shown in this book doesn't begin to give one an idea of what the jewelry of the Romanov court ladies was like, though it tries admirably. I, too, would love to see a book on all the jewels of the Romanov ladies -- it might be impossible to find the information now, but the Soviet government apparently does still have some of the pieces left behind.

The pictures are, of course, beautiful, and show fabulous jewelry. However, what I enjoyed the most was the background information that the author was able to give. Since he is related to most of the royal families of europe, he has unusual access to jewelry, paintings, historical records and inside information. For anyone interested in the time of Imperial Russia, this book does not disappoint. At least one of my friends has also bought this book on my recommendation. I would also suggest this author's book "The Crown Jewels of Europe. If you can find it.

I was really blown away by the pictures of the Jewels, especially the cherry earrings for the new Brides, I had read about these earrings but it is nothing to actually seeing how large the stones really are. Good historical pictures with various pieces. A wonderful index for the historian trying to get a handle on the lifestyle of the upper classes and the royalty of russia before the revolution.

I highly recommend this book. The photography was perfect and the text was just right.

Maybe one of the best of its kind, certainly the best in my collection.

Maybe one of the best of its kind, certainly the best in my collection.

What arrived of the book was breathtakingly beautiful! Unfortunately, pages 97-112 were duplicated and pages 112-128 were completely missing! Thus, only 4 stars. I believe an intact book would've received 5 stars. Hope this was a unique mistake and that a replacement copy will not have the same flaw. Despite the quality control issue, I'd recommend the book to anyone interested in Russian history, jewelry, or anyone who just appreciates beautiful things. I'm looking forward to adding a "complete" version of this book to my considerable book collection of Russian history and literature.

GRAB THIS BOOK!!!! The Jewels of the Tsar is a lush book, informative and jaw-dropping. The wealth of the romanovs is all over the pages. Large emeralds, brilliant diamonds and vivid sapphires are only a few that will make you realize how great is the jewelry collection of this imperial family.

Done chronologically, I am amazed seeing the coronation regalia in its finest setting.

One interesting trivia here says that a tiara once belong to the Empress Alexandra was sold and bought by the Marquess of Londonderry and subsequently acquired by Imelda Marcos of the Philippines. This particular tiara is still intact and still on its original setting contrary to the news that Imelda had the tiara broken down to form other jewelry. The Tiara is housed in the vaults of the Central Bank of the Philippines.

Great book! Well done Prince Michael!

I have a fascination with anything concerning the Romanovs. Their jewels were a part of their mystique and a symbol of their power. The book has great photos and just enough well written commentary. These jewels are historic and there are many photos or period paintings of people actually wearing the jewels that are being shown in the photos. I highly recommend the book.

This book was a gift to an avid Russian collector and she loved it! I viewed the book with her and found it to be full of wonderful photos of the Russian Royal families with information about them and their way of life. It's a wonderful book, as well as, a very beautiful book to display, as the owner now plans to do. I was very much please with this purchase. Thank you.

Yes, this book is a beautiful book! How can it not be with such magnificent jewels to show? I liked the way in which Prince Michael grouped the pieces by reigns. It makes it easier to follow in this manner.The quality of the photographs is better than in most jewelry books - except for the ones on the British royals.
My one disatisfaction with the work is that it did not include jewels owened by other Romanoffs. It would be great if some author compiled the history of the beautiful pieces owned by other members of that dynasty which survived the revolution and are now in other royal and private collections. The saga of jewels smuggled out during the Bolshevik years and their journey through Europe and America would be very interesting and exciting reading .

Everything about "Jewels of the Tsars" is a class act. This is a beautifully-bound volume using the finest heavy glossy paper. The hundreds of photographs are ideally lit and enlarged for maximum impact and enjoyment of precious details. Many of the paintings and photographs are rarely seen and so lovely. This is more than a coffee table book, it is a precious gift, a collectible. The copy is accurate and very well-written by Prince Michael of Greece. No detail from cover to cover has been ignored. This is a labor of love. I highly recommend "Jewels" to everyone who loves Russia, history, and exquisitely crafted jewels as a person treasure or a gift. Vendome Press obviously used "Jewels" as it's vehicle to produce a jewel of its own. It's worth twice the price.

I never write reviews but I received this book last night and felt inspired to speak up. This is probably one of the most beautiful books I have ever seen. I devoured it immediately and stayed up late to do it. I was shocked when I got to the end and checked the clock.
The entire book is in color, the jewels are shown close up and at times in portraits so you can have an image of how they would have looked or been arranged with other pieces.
The book is arranged in chronological order by monarch starting with Catherine the Great through post revolution times, though that material is understandably short. The portraits are typically full page and so beautifully rendered you can almost smell the paint. The paper is of a really high quality, heavy with a nice sheen making the book that much more beautiful.
It also offers quite a bit of interesting information about where the jewelry has ended up after the revolution and the history of the family. It's not an in-depth history, but that was never the purpose. It does offer some interesting tidbits and trivia. The author is clearly passionate about the topics which is infectious and makes you want to keep reading. The pictures almost always have captions that are very informative. If you don't want to really read but just enjoy the photos, you can easily do that and still gather quite a bit of information without being overwhelmed with text.
If you are at all interested in the subject matter, this is worth every penny. It's absolutely stunning. I believe there is one about the British crown jewels by Prince Michael of Greece by the same publisher as well. I'm going to go find out!

I had always thought that, other than the Coronation Crown Jewels, the Bolsheviks had stolen, sold or destroyed a good percentage of the Romanov jewels. This book puts to rest this myth. Excellent photography of the highest caliber fully illustrates that the Kremlin, and a few other places, have a significant number of exceptional jewels. Stunning works of jeweled art are coupled with outstanding pictures of Tzars, Tzarinas, Grand Duchesses, etc. The whole book is magnificant - I keep looking at it over and over again. It is a book long overdue - Thank you Prince Michael for making it a reality.

This book is absolutely beautiful. The photos are many, clear and presented with informative captions. There are several photos I have never seen before and that was a delight. The text of the book is interesting even to those of us who have read the histories so many times before. Whether you are a Russian historian or just interested in a beautiful book showing treasures of a time past I highly recommend this book. I can't stop looking through it.