Queens' Jewels [Hardcover]

Vincent Meylan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

Queens' Jewels is the result of a ten-year quest into the highly secretive realm of the collections of royal families throughout the world. The author has discovered the most precious jewels in existence - symbols of power and love - traces of a lost world. This lavish book relates the grandiose history of royal adornments, from the lost jewels of the last queen of Italy and the bloody odyssey of the Romanov crown to the story of the sapphire of the Countess of Paris and the treasure of the Catholic queens of Spain.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Vincent Meylan has contributed to Estampille and Gazette de L'Hotel Drouot and currently writes for Point De Vue, where he has been a feature writer for ten years. An expert in the history of royal families, he is also a familiar face at auction houses, high society gatherings and museums, where he has observed the rarest and most precious stones and jewels. He has written a biography of Empress Farah of Iran and a biography of Queen Elizabeth II.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Assouline Publishing (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 284323364X
• ISBN-13: 978-2843233647
• Product Dimensions: 13.5 x 10.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #973,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars INTERESTING! GOOD EFFORT, BUT WITH SOME FLAWS., February 28, 2003

By 

reviewer (Zurich, Switzerland.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Queens' Jewels (Hardcover)

This Vincent Meylan's "Queens' Jewels" makes an interesting read. It did a good job on the English aristocracy/monarchy. The same applied to the French, the Scandinavian, and the Russian overlords. Its chapters were well-grouped and well-sectioned: thus making it easy for readers to select whatever interests them with great ease.
Sadly, little effort was made as to improve the quality of the included photographs. Also, some of the information which Mr. Meylan presented were flawed. And, the details of some royal treasures, (particularly those of Italy, Austro-Hungary, Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal) were scanty.
Overall, this is a good book (if one ignores its pardonable errors and omissions).

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT, January 25, 2003

By 

Francisco Luis Murado Saavedra - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Queens' Jewels (Hardcover)

The paper used to print this book is of better quality thant the text. The "research" Mr. Meylan has made, at least in the case of Spain, is simply inaccurate. On the other hand the book doesn't make any reference to such important treasures as those of the Dutch and Portuguese Queens. Finally, the quality of the photos is poor in many cases.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great research, January 23, 2003

By 

Rene J. Gonzalez (Tampa, Fl United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Queens' Jewels (Hardcover)

The Queens Jewels is an excellent overview of some of the most beautiful pieces of craftsmanship ever published. I bought the book in French before it was translated into English and enjoyed it very much. Since it is grouped by countries and or dynasties you can pick it up any where and enjoy whatever chaper you are reading. The section on the Italian, Spanish and Balkan jewels is very interesting since they are relatively unknown in this country which has a predelction for the British royal family and consequently only sees what Elizabeth II wears.
My only objection to the book is that some of the photos are not sufficiently crisp but since many of these are old photographs, it can be excused.