Prince Lorenzo de Medici - Pearl Necklace

[mausketeer]

Has anyone seen the TLC show "Secret Princes"? Yes, I watch it. Just wondered about the JAW DROPPING pearl necklace that Prince Lorenzo ("Dino") gave to his girlfriend that came down through his family. They showed it on a Princess in a painting from the Renaissance. The pearls must be 12 or 13mm at least (maybe larger?) with a huge citrine or topaz pendant. Just gorgeous. Does anyone know the piece or have photos? I'll try to find one of it from the show......

Jodie

 

[MSC]

oooh now I need to google this!

 

[mausketeer]

Lol, damn! Can't find anything! Had to take photos from the TV! First is the painting they showed of it on his ancestor (he didn't say her name, only that she was a princess). Then photos of it on his girlfriend. It has a pearl drop off the pendant, it's hard to see.... Can you IMAGINE? Dating someone you think works at a falafel stand (something like that). Then he turns out to be a member of the Medici family and gives you a priceless heirloom? Crazy!

 

[MSC]

Beautiful necklace, but I bet it's a replica. No way family lets jewels like that leave
TACKY EARRING ALERT!

 

[MSC]

I love that you took photos of the tv!

 

[pattye]

Oh my! That is some story. Jodie, you are amazing to get these photos! Agree~giving a replica would be easy enough to do.

Andrea, you're right about the earrings!

 

[LitGeek]

Beautiful necklace, but I bet it's a replica. No way family lets jewels like that leave
TACKY EARRING ALERT!

I imagine it must be a replica...giving as a gift to a wife I could see, but not just a GF. It is a lovely piece though!

 

[MSC]

Psh I'd take the replica, no problem! I see one of the princes is from the Romanov line. Now there's a set of royal jewels I'd like to get my hands on! I saw an exhibition in Delaware way way back like in 2000 of the Romanov and Fabrege jewels and objects di virtu (my memory is awful, these were two separate exhibitions). I don't think I stopped slobbering myself for days after, lol.
I wonder how much the princes got paid to participate in the educational programming of TLC?

 

[whicker]

Ah, so now we have to do some sleuthing to find where the replica came from.. I bet our Parisian, Cliclasp, will know..

 

[whicker]

Hey Andrea, we were at the same exhibit in Delaware! The Duponts put it on. It was one huge show, with different sections. That is one I would love to find the exhibit book for! I don't think there is getting over it. I was shocked at how tiny the waist was on the ceremonial dress for the wedding. So many jewels on everything. There was a ceremonial carriage, too..

Did you go to Longwood Gardens, too?

 

[whicker]

I think the current necklace looks different from the original. Bigger pearls, longer strand, different balance to the piece. In the original, the enhancer is dominant, this one it is secondary. I wonder if she has had a pearl jeweler take a look at it, heh, heh, heh!

 

[MSC]

Hey Andrea, we were at the same exhibit in Delaware! The Duponts put it on. It was one huge show, with different sections. That is one I would love to find the exhibit book for! I don't think there is getting over it. I was shocked at how tiny the waist was on the ceremonial dress for the wedding. So many jewels on everything. There was a ceremonial carriage, too..

Did you go to Longwood Gardens, too?

Oh neat! Small world, eh? I went to both the Romanov exhibition in 1998 and the Faberge exhibition in 2000, both at the Delaware Riverfront Center which is lovely! Both exhibitions were insane with gorgeous stuff. I actually emailed the center to find out if a catalog or book was ever produced, if so I'll definitely let you know. No more thread hijacking - sorry OP!

If I was that woman first thing I would have done is take it to an antique jewelry appraiser!

 

[mausketeer]

Lol. I carry my loupe in my purse (I'm sure we all do!). Yes, it probably IS a repro. I honestly didn't think of that (he is VERY romantic, I thought he might be the type to give real jewels, I quite liked him actually. So you all think they are probably REAL, just not the ORIGINAL?). The Romanoff dude was a lovely man too. They were all quite nice this time actually. Just "regular folk", lol.

So the Romanoffs still have a lot of their jewels? We were discussing that (whether they had any left after the Revolution). I assume they would have been hidden, or smuggled out for safe-keeping.

Jodie

 

[Caitlin]

They are so large, they are probably shell pearls. No kidding. just kidding. but they are large. even for freshwaters.

 

[KarinK]

I have a friend, just turned 70, who's grandmother was some kind of Russian aristochracy. She has told me how they took their jewelry apart and sewed it on the back on their garment when they were escaping the revolution. I think much could have been transported that way. The gowns were pretty big. Wouldn't have worked in the 60'ies

- Karin

 

[MSC]

I have a friend, just turned 70, who's grandmother was some kind of Russian aristochracy. She has told me how they took their jewelry apart and sewed it on the back on their garment when they were escaping the revolution. I think much could have been transported that way. The gowns were pretty big. Wouldn't have worked in the 60'ies

- Karin

What an ingenious idea!

 

[dmj]

its a nice necklace but compared to the nicer pieces of the family its not that special ( to me )

when i lived in florence i used to go to the palazzo pitti museum where they have some hugeee freshwaters on display from the family and hundreds of pearl pieces from them

also pieces in vatican museum come from this family what makes sense because Giulio de' Medici became Pope Clement VII and pope Leo X also was a medici and then there where the rest of the family who married royals rich and famous all around europe in that time making them the one of the most important family in the world anyhow i think we can track loooottttttsss of the antique and amazing pearl pieces we know there days back to this family ( and with pieces being 500 years old they do look quite amazing )

think the monkey is my favorite






if you google palazzo pitti pearls quite some will come up

 

[MSC]

That bottom one is fantastic!

 

[mausketeer]

Ooh! Those are fab! Yah, love the monkey! I am constantly looking for crazy "take a pearl, make a _______ out of it" pieces on Ebay (not to buy, just for my own amusement). I must start saving the photos. Perhaps that should be a new thread? Lol

Jodie