Diamond fund: excursions, tickets and the operating mode of the museum

The capital of Russia is a city with a truly centuries-old history and a huge cultural heritage. A large number of attractions located here, is the main reason why many people from all over the world seek to visit Moscow.

Tourists, as a rule, want to see the Red Square, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Poklonnaya Hill, the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Arbat, the Novodevichy Convent and, of course, the majestic towering city-fortress - the Kremlin. Its territory is abundantly decorated with towers and palaces, and the interior decoration is amazing. To get a lot of unforgettable impressions, having gone to the Moscow Kremlin for an excursion, you should definitely look into the building of the State Armory Chamber. Today it is here that the Diamond Fund is located, amazing exhibits of which are available for viewing to all comers. And it's really worth seeing with your own eyes.

general information

The Diamond Fund of the Moscow Kremlin is a collection of very rare jewelry and precious stones that have a huge artistic, historical and material value. To show visitors the treasure data in full now, unfortunately, is not possible. However, the guides of this exhibition are trying to maximally acquaint everyone with the diversity and history of this truly rare collection of jewelry.

History of the Diamond Fund

The Diamond Fund of the Kremlin was created in 1719 by Peter the Great. The last Russian tsar established the rules according to which all the most valuable things (first of all it concerned various coronation regalia) belonged to the Russian state and were constantly kept in the treasury under round-the-clock protection. Only three officials could get the precious products intended for these or those solemn ceremonies, having gathered together. This is the royal rounder, chamber-adviser and chamber-president. Each of these people had their own key from one of the locks. Initially, the chamber, which was specially built by order of Peter the Great to store various values, was called official documents, like the Diamond Fund, but later it was renamed the Diamond Room. The boyars were to guard the treasury day and night and were responsible for the royal jewels with their own heads.

From the Romanovs to our days

Over time, the Diamond Fund of Russia was replenished, some ornaments were sold, others were altered. Initially, the set of rules was changed, but the order of storing the jewelry was always unchanged. During the reign of the ancient noble family of the Romanovs, the room in which all the valuables were located was called the Diamond Room. In 1914, during the First World War, there was a direct threat of loss of royal jewelry. For this reason, the entire collection was transported from the Winter Palace, located in St. Petersburg, to the Armory Chamber of Moscow. In January 1922, by decision of a specially created commission for the selection and examination of valuables, part of the jewelry was transferred to museums. The other half went to Gokhran - the State Treasury, which became a kind of successor to the treasury of the Royal Family. In 1925, coronation regalia and other jewelry were first exhibited for public display in the House of Unions. In October 1967, the government decided to create a permanent exhibition in the Moscow Kremlin.

Exposition of the Diamond Fund

Currently, the Diamond Fund contains a collection of very rare jewelry, as well as diamonds and diamonds. During the entire period of its existence, it was gradually replenished with medals, rare gems and other precious stones. At the same time, a special contribution to the collection of the fund was made by a special jewelry laboratory created to restore the destroyed values, such as, for example, the Small and Great Imperial Crowns, as well as other items belonging to the imperial family. Thanks to a very fine professional work, it was possible to return more than one hundred jewelry items to the fund.

The first hall of the fund

Excursion to the Diamond Fund includes a visit to two halls. In the first, visitors can see domestic diamonds and diamonds, artwork made of semiprecious and precious stones made by Soviet jewelers, as well as platinum and gold nuggets. The most famous of the latter are Mephistopheles, Camel and Big Triangle, which weighs thirty-six kilograms. In addition, in this room there is a map of Russia made of diamonds and a large exposition of Yakut and Ural diamonds, accompanied by samples of minerals - satellites of diamonds and various diamonds of diamond-bearing type. Also here you can see special tools: cutters, drills and drill bits. In a separate group, giants and crushed, chopped, ovalnished, ground, sawn and other pre-processed diamonds for diamond cutting have been singled out. By the way, the latter are also represented in this room. Mostly these are the works of the masters of the Smolensk factory. A special place is given to the window "Russian gems", which demonstrates the diversity and richness of Russian colored stones. Today, the exposition includes an extensive collection of sapphires, emeralds, topazes and amethysts. In addition to all of the above, the first hall presents contemporary art and displays rare photo documents that characterize the achievements of the diamond mining industry of the Soviet period.

Second fund room

The second hall of the foundation presents to the attention of visitors a variety of historical values and jewelry of the eighteenth - nineteenth centuries, which until 1917 were among the crown values of the Russian Empire. Most of the jewelry is made in the style of classicism and rococo. The latter is most pronounced in the "Big Bouquet" made of Brazilian diamonds and Colombian emeralds and serving as an ornament for the corsage of Elizabeth Petrovna's dress. In addition, the work of some of the most famous jewelers of the eighteenth century - Duval and Nozier, represents the Diamond Foundation in its second hall. The museum also offers visitors to get acquainted with various decorations for costumes - epaulettes, stripes, laces with brushes and studs, strewn with diamonds of different sizes. There are also two historical stones of the fund - the largest chrysolite in the world, brought from the island of Zeberget, and the famous diamond from India called "Shah", weighing eighty-eight carats and whose incredible history is engraved by skillful masters on the stone itself. And finally, it is in the second room that the Great Imperial Crown, which was made in 1762, is kept. Due to the richness of the material, the beauty and subtlety of the jewelry work, it has no equal. Spinel, crowning it and weighing more than three hundred ninety eight carats, is the sixth historical stone of the foundation. Its transparency and purity make it possible to relate it to the number of the most beautiful in the world.

The Value of the Diamond Fund

The treasures carefully preserved by the Diamond Fund of the Moscow Kremlin have a worldwide artistic and historical value. With their help, you can trace in detail the development of jewelry in Russia, as well as get acquainted with the amazing creations of outstanding masters of jewelry. In addition, they allow you to see in the precious stones not only great material value, but also, among other things, the beautiful embodiment of nature itself, which fills life with joy and beauty. It is for these reasons that the Diamond Fund of the Kremlin is today one of the most visited, both by tourists and residents of the capital. Everyone wants to get here and personally see these unique treasures.

Visit to the Diamond Fund

As for buying tickets to the Diamond Fund, you can purchase them yourself at the ticket office, which is located directly in the Diamond Fund Museum. Each visitor receives a special brochure and attaches himself to one of the excursion groups that gather on the spot. It is worth noting that tickets to the fund are not sold in advance. Just like they can not be bought separately from the excursion. The exception is only the summer months, when you can visit the fund yourself.

Excursions to the Diamond Fund

You can order the excursion either by contacting the armory of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin, or by using the services of one of Moscow's many sightseeing bureaus. While visiting the fund, you will not only be able to look at a rich collection of precious stones and jewelry, but also learn the history of their creation and many other interesting facts. An experienced guide will tell in detail about all the exhibits and answer any questions concerning the values that the Diamond Fund represents. Tickets - both for adults and for children - are now in the area of five hundred rubles. It should be noted that the cost of an individual excursion will be an order of magnitude more expensive.

reference Information

The entrance to the Diamond Fund is next to the Borovitsky Gate. Excursion groups are formed, as a rule, every twenty to thirty minutes. The official opening time is ten in the morning. The work of the Diamond Foundation ends at five o'clock in the evening. You can not buy tickets less than thirty minutes before that time. The day off for the Diamond Fund is Thursday.