The pair’s pink and red gems are reminiscent of the beguiling Caesar’s Ruby, a jewel that was passed among monarchs over hundreds of years.
Part of the Russian crown jewels for centuries, Caesar’s Ruby turned out not to be a ruby at all. The more than 255-carat raspberry-shaped gem, which was made into a pendant with leaves of gold and green enamel, has a peripatetic history: After the 1574 death of its first known owner, Charles IX of France, his wife, Elisabeth, brought it back to her home in Austria. It was later looted by Sweden during the Thirty Years’ War and eventually given as a gift to Catherine the
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