For Catherine the Great, jewelry was about much more than adornment. The formidable Russian empress - who reigned from 1762 to 1796 after overthrowing her own husband, Peter III - understood that ...

In 1745, after being received into the Russian Orthodox Church, and changing her name to Catherine, she married Grand Duke Peter, grandson of Peter the Great and heir to the Russian throne.

Often referred to as the “Russian Hamlet”, Paul is a tortured figure who struggles to cope with his father’s death and his mother’s new lovers. Taken from Catherine at birth and raised by his great ...

The Imperial Crown of Catherine II the Great. Found in the collection of State Hermitage, St. Petersburg. Catherine’s most impressive pieces were part of the Russian Imperial Crown Jewels ...

Read on to find out where Catherine the Great’s royal gems ended up after her death in 1796. Catherine’s most impressive pieces were part of the Russian Imperial Crown Jewels, passed down to ...