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An Imperial Presentation ring, with white enamel bezel encircled by diamonds and surmounted by a ruby and diamond set Imperial Crown, the tapering reeded yellow gold shank mounted with old brilliant cut diamonds, bearing the cypher of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia, son of Emperor Alexander II and uncle of Emperor Nicholas II.
St. Petersburg, pre 1896.
Grand Duke Alexei was General-Admiral and commander of the Russian Imperial Fleet. Following the disastrous performance of the navy in the Russo-Japanese war the Grand Duke was relieved of his command and retired to Paris, where he died in 1908. He had an impressive figure and was a renown womaniser; whose life according to gossips consisted of “fast women and slow ships”.