Caesar's ruby is the historical name of rubellite (red tourmaline ) weighing 255.75 carats . The stone has the shape of a bunch of grapes and is complemented by a jewelry mount decorated with grape leaves. It is stored in the Diamond Fund .
Content
Description
The stone is pinkish-crimson, faceted in the shape of a berry or bunch of grapes. Other names for the stone are “Red Stone” and “Big Ruby”. According to the academician-mineralogist A. E. Fersman , his native land is Burma . The size of the stone is 4 × 2.7 × 2.3 cm; weight - 255.75 carats. On top is a gold jewelry addition in the form of grape leaves and antennae . The twisted stalk forms a loop fastening. The leaves are covered with green enamel, the stalk is black and white.
History
Legendary Story
The ancient history of stone has no documentary evidence and is determined by tradition. According to legend, tourmaline was presented by Cleopatra to her lover Julius Caesar , and therefore was named after the Roman commander. It should be noted that for antiquity it was typical to combine all the transparent red minerals into one category; Some well-known historical gems, traditionally called rubies, turned out to be spinel or other minerals (for example, Ruby of the Black Prince and Ruby of Timur ) with a more detailed study.
The next legendary owner of Rubin Caesar is called the Emperor of the Francs , Charlemagne , the first emperor in Western Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire . The stone was attributed magical properties to bring fame and fortune to its owners, but also evil rock . From the French kings, Rubin Caesar first came to the Templars , and then, after the defeat of the order by King Philippe the Beautiful , to the treasury of the Jesuits . The Jesuits presented the stone to King Charles IX after Bartholomew’s night . Here the "fusion" of the legendary and real history of the stone takes place.
Famous History
The French king Charles IX (1550-1574) is the first reliable owner of Rubin Caesar. After Karl’s death, the stone passed to his widow, Elizabeth of Austria (1554–1592), and from her to her brother, King of Bohemia Rudolph II (1552–1612). In 1648, during the Thirty Years War, the stone was captured by the Swedes in Prague and transferred to Queen Christina . After her death, Caesar's Ruby was taken to Stockholm [1] .
In 1777, the Swedish king Gustav III arrived in St. Petersburg and presented a stone to Empress Catherine II as a gift [1] . Gustav's plans included not only a political rapprochement with Russia, but also a marriage with one of Catherine’s nieces. As a result, marriage plans did not materialize, and Caesar's ruby remained in the possession of the Russian monarchs. Initially, he was placed in the Diamond Room - a collection of jewelry founded by Peter I , from which the Diamond Fund was subsequently organized. During the First World War, the stone, along with other treasures, was transported from Petrograd to the Moscow Kremlin , where it remains to this day.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Magnificence of Gems