The document summarizes the discovery and origins of a photographic album from 1922 containing images of the Russian Crown Jewels. The album was found in the personal library of George Frederick Kunz, a USGS mineralogist, and contains 81 photos depicting the jewels. Some photos match those from a 1925 catalog of the jewels. The album provides unique views of 4 jewels not in the catalog. It is now on loan to the Hillwood Museum for an exhibition on the Romanov family.

1. U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey

2. Breaking the News
• December 18, 2012 – USGS Press Release
“Tracking the Story of the Russian Crown Jewels”
– Included a 4 minute podcast called “Diamonds and Dusty Pages
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8xPZ7txy-3w
• December 30, 2012 – National Public Radio Weekend Edition
aired a 4:41 radio story called “The Mysterious
Disappearance Of The Russian Crown Jewels”
– http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=
false&id=168219426&m=168292498

3. The Kunz Collection
In the rare book room of the U.S. Geological Survey Library in Reston, VA
resides the personal library of George Frederick Kunz (1856-1932). Kunz was a
preeminent mineralogist and gemologist, an employee of the USGS, and a
prolific writer. His library contains numerous rare and valuable books dating
back to as early as the beginning of the 16th century.
Photos of George Frederick Kunz working
with kunzite which was discovered by and
named after him. Taken from one of his
original scrapbooks titled “Photographs of
Kunzite”.

4. Photographic Album (1922)
• Discovered while looking for items in the public domain (prior
to 1923) for potential library digitization projects
• Initial realization was not that this was rare or important,
simply that the images were beautiful.

5. Photographic Album (1922)
“Russian
Diamond
Fund”
“NKF Governmental Repository
Unknown artist’s “Moscow-1922” of Valuables”
signature

6. Russian Diamond Fund
Photographic Album (1922)
• Consists of a hand-colored title page (previous slide) and 59 pages on which
are pasted 81 original photographs depicting Romanov jewels.
• 22 photos (some cut from larger images) appear to have been used for prints
in Russia’s Treasure of Diamonds and Precious Stones.
• 60 of the photos show jewels depicted in Russia’s Treasures from different
angles.
• 4 photos show jewelry not included in Russia’s Treasures.

7. Russia’s Treasure of Diamonds and Precious
Stones (1925)
• “Rediscovered” in the Kunz collection. Complete
except for plates LI and LII.
• Consists of 100 plates with accompanying text which
inventory the Romanov jewels.
• In 2007 a copy of this catalog sold on auction for
$141,984
(http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=4928114)
• Some of these jewels were sold by the Soviet
government shortly after this inventory was created.
To this day the locations of many of the jewels are
still unknown.

8. Origins of Album & Catalog
It is unknown how Kunz came to possess these volumes. He saw the jewels
personally:
The Winter Palace treasures, the Orlov diamond, the red diamond
of Emperor Paul, the great pearls and other magnificent jewels
were shown to me by the courtesy of the Imperial Chamberlain,
Prince Putjatzin on January 15, 1891. (Kunz, 1919)
A series of letters between Kunz and the American Museum of Natural
History indicate that he had copies made of the album’s photographs in
October of 1923, barely more than a year after the jewels were unboxed and
photographed.
Kunz’s collection also contains a number of newspaper clippings from the
early 1920s regarding the jewels and an auction catalogue from Messrs.
Christie, Manson & Woods (1927) detailing the sale of 124 lots of Russian
royal jewelry.

9. Examples of identical images
1922 photo 1925 print 1922 photo 1925 print
1922 photo 1925 print

10. Examples of differing images
1922 photo
1922 photo 1925 print
1925 print

11. Photograph quality and image cleaning
After scanning the raw images
with a PS7000C MKII scanner at
400 dpi, Adobe Photoshop was
used to clean and optimize the
Note the discoloration on the images.
background of the unaltered
photograph.

12. Russian Royal Jewels
Photograph from Russia’s Treasure of Diamonds and Precious Stones. Indicated from left to right: Photos 1, 2, and
4.

13. Unique Photo 1
Entry from Selling Russia's Treasures, Nicolas Iljine,
Natalya Semyonova, 2000 Appendix II.
1922 photo – caption reads: “Brooch
bow with large sapphire”

14. Unique Photo 2
1922 photo – caption reads “bracelet with sapphires”. So far no references to it have been
identified.

15. Unique Photo 3
1922 photo – caption reads “necklace with emeralds”. So far no
references to it have been identified.

16. Unique Photo 4
This study done by Nicholas Chevalier possibly
represents the same tiara as one of the jewels worn
by the Tsarevna at the marriage of Prince
1922 photo – caption reads “diamond tiara with nine Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, and the Grand Duchess
large sapphires, the largest weighing 34.2 m/k.” No Marie Alexandrovna of Russia in 1874
record of it being sold has been located, nor has any (Munn, 2001, 287). The design of the central
record of it been located in the Russian Diamond portion appears identical to the
Fund today. photograph, although the sketch shows a pearl
frame and solid (possibly velvet) backing to the tiara.

17. The Album Today
• The album is currently on loan to
the Hillwood Museum for an
exhibition on the Romanov Family
and their Coronations
• “Pageant of the Tsars” runs
through June 8, 2013
• Hillwood was the home of
Marjorie Merriweather Post and
today is a house museum
designed to inspire and educate
the public.
• Hillwood contains the most
comprehensive collection
of Russian imperial art outside of
Russia, including some pieces
from the Russian Crown Jewels

18. Special Thanks
We would like to the Gemological Institute of America, the American Museum of Natural History,
the Corcoran Gallery of Art Hillwood Museum and the Smithsonian Institution for their assistance
on this project.
We would also like to thank Mrs. Christel McCanless and Mrs. Annemiek Wintraecken for their
research and support.
Richard Huffine, Library Director (rhuffine@usgs.gov)
Jenna Nolt, Digital Services Librarian (jnolt@usgs.gov)
Libraries Program, United States Geological Survey
References
• Fersman, A. E. (1925). Russia’s Treasure of Diamonds and Precious Stones. Moscow: People’s Commissariat of Finances.
• Iljine, Nicolas & Semyonova, Natalya. (2000). Selling Russia's Treasures.: The Story of the Sale of Russian National Art
Treasures Confiscated from the Tsarist Royal Family, the Church, Private Individuals and Museums in the USSR in 1918 – 1937.
Moscow: Trefoil Press.
• Kunz, George Frederick. (1919). The Crown Jewels of Russia. Lotus Magazine; v. 10, p. 288-292.
• Munn, Geoffrey C. (2001). Tiaras: A History of Splendor. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors’ Club.