The imperial Austrian regalia, dating from the time of Emperor Rudolph II, are also in the imperial Burg; some of the emperor’s jewels were sold at auction in Prague in 1728.
The crown is adorned with two rows of pearls, weighing respectively 960 and 840 grains; between these rows are pearls having a total weight of 440 grains, while the ornaments and eight large drops weigh 2052 grains. The largest pearl on this crown weighs 104 grains. It is drop-shaped and belonged to Rudolph II; it is slightly uneven and the color, although white, is not that of a new pearl, but this pearl has a positive history of three hundred and six years, and at the present time is probably the oldest known unchanged pearl with a direct and authentic record.
The imperial orb is studded with pearls weighing in all 1560 grains. Four of these weigh forty grains each, the others are of lesser size, the smallest weighing ten grains. The scepter is adorned with pearls to the weight of 300 grains.
In addition to these insignia and regalia there are in the treasury two magnificent pearl necklaces, deposited by Empress Maria Theresa in 1765. The first consists of a single string of 114 large-sized pearls with the “Baden Solitaire,” a diamond of 30 carats, as a clasp. Three of these pearls weigh from 92 to 100 grains each, and the whole string has a total weight of 3400 grains. This would give us the following values, the pearls averaging 29.82 grains.
| Base | |
|---|---|
| $2.50 | $253,432.12 |
| 5.00 | 506,864.24 |
The other necklace contains 121 pearls of a total weight of 3788 grains, arranged in three rows; these pearls average 31.3 grains, the largest weighing forty grains and the smallest ten grains. The necklace has a diamond clasp of 141⁄32 carats. The pearls are worth:
| Base | |
|---|---|
| $2.50 | $296,450 |
| 5.00 | 592,900 |
| 7.50 | 889,350 |
Two bracelets with brilliant clasps, belonging to the same set, and consisting of 240 medium-sized pearls weighing 2800 grains and averaging 11⅔ grains, have the following values:
| Base | |
|---|---|
| $2.50 | $81,658.80 |
| 5.00 | 163,317.60 |
| 7.50 | 244,976.40 |
There is also a pendant of six pearls, weighing 300 grains and averaging fifty grains; these pearls are worth: