L as in Lettuce -abcWednesday, Round 6 / Alphabe-Thursday "L": / Contest results

Today is already Thursday (well, actually, it's Friday), and I have a lot of things to get done in this one post. Once again I am taking the liberty of combining abcWednesday Round 6 with Mrs. Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday, since both have the same letter this week, "L". The letter "L" is a really good one! Here are some wonderful L-words: "Latvia", "Liberia", "liberty", "life", "Lily", "Lithuania",  "Los Angeles", "love",  "lizard" and, of course, "lettuce"! 

I have one more "L"-word. But before I say which one it is, I would like to announce the winners of my "Guess-The-Jeweller-Contest" from the week of the letter "J" (for Jewellery). 

The correct answer to my question as to which jeweller or jewellery house that made this beautiful green jade circular pendant is Peter Carl Fabergé (1846-1920). 

The undisputable first prize winner is Grace of Hugz Before You Go. Congratulations Grace! The runners up are in this order
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Grace guessed correctly and very quickly, but then changed her answer because she just could not believe that this pendant, that I wore on my wedding day,  could be made by the House of Faberge. Unbelieveable, yes, but true. So here is the story that you won't find in the history books that I have listed at the end of this post:


When the Russian Czar Nicholas II and his family were arrested and shot, Fabergé was one of many who fled Russia. When you read about the Fabergé Easter Eggs it mentions that the Czar's mother also escaped and took one of the eggs with her to the west. 

But there is a person close to the Czar's family that you may not find in most history books, the Empress's lady-in-waiting, Anna Verbova. Alexandra had a companion to help her and the Czar was kind enough to give his wife and his wife's companion, the exact same pieces of jewellery. This is the exception to the rule that every piece that was made of the house of Fabergé was unique. The Czar ordered two of everything for Alexandra and Anna! So if the same green pendant is ever found, we will know that it was the Empress's, because the pendant that I wore at my wedding belonged to her lady-in-waiting, Anna Verbova!

How did an ordinary girl like me get to even see a piece like that? Anna Verbova left Russia through Finland and came to Sweden. She paid her way by selling her jewellery. A jewellery-dealer in Stockholm bought some of her jewellery and sold this pendant to a young dentist who had been kind to him. The young man gave the green pendant to his bride. The year was 1920 and the dentist was my grandfather. My grandmother loved it! And she loved my grandfather very much. The same year, Faberge, who had fled to Switzerland, is said to have died "of a broken heart".

So my other "L-word" is "loyalty". The Fabergé jewellers were loyal to their most important patron, the Czar, and the Czars, both Alexander and his son Nicholas II, were loyal to the House of Fabergé. 

Sorry I am so late with this. There has been a lot happening in my off-line-life, but that is another story. For those who would like to read more about the House of Fabergé or the life of the last Czar of Russia, take a look at this Amazon-book-list. In Robert K. Massie's book, "Nicholas and Alexandra", Anna Verbova is actually mentioned.

Best wishes,

Anna

To see more L-words at abcWednesday, please click here.
To see more L-words at Mrs. Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday, please click here.

P.S.

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First Commenter: Daisy the Curly Cat

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Masterpieces from the House of Faberge













Peter Carl Faberge. His life and works.