A recently-discovered book at the U.S. Geological Survey Library in Reston, Virginia is supposedly a 1922 catalog of the Russian crown jewels, which once belonged to the Romanov family and fell into the hands of revolutionaries when the last the czar was toppled in 1917. When compared to the official inventory of the jewels published in 1925, it became apparent that four items in the earlier book are missing from the 1925 volume. One, a sapphire brooch, was traced to a London auction in 1927, but the fate of the other three items is a mystery. Read more about the discrepancies at NPR. Link
An acquaintance of mine recently told me that she was given as a gift, a piece of jewelry containing an alexandrite that is larger than anything I've ever seen. I must admit that that news sped my heart up a bit. Those stones are truely rare. I'm hoping she'll bring it in to the office on our next visit so I can ogle it.