The trail starts in 1917 in Russia when Bolshevik revolutionaries shot to death the Czarist royal family who had sewn priceless rings, necklaces and other jewels into their undergarments.
Royal Russian fine jewelry continues to be the stuff of mystery.
INTRIGUE
Dateline yesterday, from AP, renovators found priceless pre-Bolshevik era jewelry and artifacts hidden inside a secret compartment in a St. Petersburg’s mansion.
During World War II, Nazis looted, boxed-up and shipped-out untold amounts of Royal jewelry and other priceless treasure from the Soviet Union. At least 2 James Bond 007 movie plots feature Russian jewelry.
The city government and the Communist party (yeah, they're still around) made claims to the jewelry found yesterday. AP reports that French descendants of the nobles who owned the mansion before the revolution may have a valid claim to the treasure.
Have you taken steps to safeguard your own jewelry, art and other valuables? Here's how.
PROTECT YOUR VALUABLES
- Insure items at market price NOW, rates are low on jewelry riders under homeowners/renters policies.
- Place valuables in a bank safety deposit box, about $50 for small boxes.
- Install an in-home safe
- Remove valuables from view on dresser tops and in cabinets
- Carry minimal amounts of jewelry while traveling
- Use hotel safes for items from premier jewelry designers.