For Catherine the Great, jewelry was about much more than adornment. The formidable Russian empress - who reigned from ...

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.

For Catherine the Great ... the empress’ personal jewelry collection was passed on to her children. Cartier eventually purchased the emerald from the Russian royal family in 1927 and had ...