Duchess Of Windsor Jewellery

[scooter]

Originally Posted by muriel

Ironic that the only piece of jewellery the DoW received from his mother was a pearl necklace, given her formidable jewel collection, and how generous she was with it to her children.

According to a story in the Financial Times today, some jewellery belonging to the Duchess of Windsor is going on sale at Sotheby's. The pieces include an onyx and diamond panther bracelet made by Cartier in 1952. The piece is expected to fetch in the region of £1.5m.

Was there not much published discussion of certain emeralds given to Mrs Simpson?

[branchg]

Originally Posted by scooter

Was there not much published discussion of certain emeralds given to Mrs Simpson?

There were allegations for years that some of the emeralds in The Duke's possession had once belonged to Queen Alexandra and were used to create new pieces for The Duchess, but this was adamantly denied by The Duke.

He was very interested in jewels and often worked directly with Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpel in designing pieces for The Duchess. He did possess quite a number of unset gems that he had received as gifts from the Indian princes when he toured the Raj as Prince of Wales, but he also acquired many gems when they became available.

[mammacats]

Boy, the Daily Mail must go through venom by the barrel. That was a really obnoxious article. Those jewels pictured in the article were very beautiful and classic looking in their design. Lucky new owners.

[Zonk]

Originally Posted by branchg

There were allegations for years that some of the emeralds in The Duke's possession had once belonged to Queen Alexandra and were used to create new pieces for The Duchess, but this was adamantly denied by The Duke.

He was very interested in jewels and often worked directly with Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpel in designing pieces for The Duchess. He did possess quite a number of unset gems that he had received as gifts from the Indian princes when he toured the Raj as Prince of Wales, but he also acquired many gems when they became available.

According to The Royal Jewels by Suzy Menkes (page 95).....Edward VIII did not inherit them from his grandmother. They were not stolen. The emeralds were so little considered as part of a royal heritage that they were offered for sale to the highest bidder...and that bidder was Edward VIII.

The author suggests that Edward, who kept such detailed records from Cartier (et al) didn't produce proof was because he pleaded poverty at the time of the Abdication and afterwards. Drawing attention to money spent on jewles would have called into question the use of extravagance and invited discussion about the value of the Duchess's entire collection of jewels. In addition ,the face that the Duchess received these jewels while Mrs. Simpsons would have created a major scandal.

Hope that helps.

[branchg]

Well, it certainly was no secret that The King was showering Wallis Simpson with expensive jewels because she was wearing them everywhere she went in London in 1936, causing much comment among society.

George VI was also aware at the time of the Abdication that his brother had given Wallis approximately $1.5 million (in today's values) from his private fortune to ensure she would be taken care of no matter what happened. She later returned this money to him, but again, it was no secret.

Menkes' account of the emeralds sold by Princess Victoria to Cartier in London after her mother's death, and purchased by The Duke years later, was never confirmed. Some accounts have stated Alexandra never had any emeralds, other than some unset stones given to her by the Indian princes that were later passed on to Queen Mary after Edward VII died.

Cartier later stated all of the gems used to create pieces for Wallis were either purchased by The Duke from the firm or deposited with the firm for safekeeping from his private collection.

[auntie]

have just read the auctuon reslts, astonishing!

[countess felicitas]

Just found this nice short movie on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_ttqgSzeNg

[Jaya]

Originally Posted by Zonk

According to The Royal Jewels by Suzy Menkes (page 95).....Edward VIII did not inherit them from his grandmother. They were not stolen. The emeralds were so little considered as part of a royal heritage that they were offered for sale to the highest bidder...and that bidder was Edward VIII.

The author suggests that Edward, who kept such detailed records from Cartier (et al) didn't produce proof was because he pleaded poverty at the time of the Abdication and afterwards. Drawing attention to money spent on jewles would have called into question the use of extravagance and invited discussion about the value of the Duchess's entire collection of jewels. In addition ,the face that the Duchess received these jewels while Mrs. Simpsons would have created a major scandal.

Hope that helps.

It does help Zonk. and it makes sense . I also want to bring to eveyone's attention that the Duchess wore a lot of costume jewellery in the early days it was by Stanley Hagler and Kenneth Jay Lane.Hagler has been described as the Picasso of costume jewellery as he followed Miriam Haskell's lead. I like the Duchess in high costume jewellery and not those big shiny pieces which hardly suited her and in which she was not truly a shareholder.

[scooter]

KJL made many costume pieces for the richest ladies in the world. There was the famous anecdote about someone admiring a piece that Elizabeth Taylor was wearing. The person asked ET' Is it from Kenny Lane?' the response was 'No Dear. Richard Burton' (NOT costume).

[Princejohnny25]

LOL, I love quips from Liz Taylor. I'm desperate to find out who bought the panther bracelet, if it was Madonna, at least we will get to see it worn in public again.

[kwint]

Does anyone know where to obtain a picture(s) of the Duchess of Windsor's wedding band that Kelly Klein currently owns? It is a double banded yellow gold ring surrounding emerald cut diamonds in the eternity ring style. The ring is inscribed with "Eternity" on the inside. It was sold to Calvin Klein at the original auction in Geneva in 1987 but is not pictured in the Sotheby's catalog...

[scooter]

Originally Posted by Princejohnny25

LOL, I love quips from Liz Taylor. I'm desperate to find out who bought the panther bracelet, if it was Madonna, at least we will get to see it worn in public again.

Please, not on that sinewy wrist!

[Jaya]

Originally Posted by kwint

Does anyone know where to obtain a picture(s) of the Duchess of Windsor's wedding band that Kelly Klein currently owns? It is a double banded yellow gold ring surrounding emerald cut diamonds in the eternity ring style. The ring is inscribed with "Eternity" on the inside. It was sold to Calvin Klein at the original auction in Geneva in 1987 but is not pictured in the Sotheby's catalog...

Hi kwint,
There probably aren't any pics of that unless Kelly herself divulges them. Inscribed "Eternity" on the inside must have been the inspiration for Calvin's prefume of the same name.

[scooter]

Well I see Kelly on a fairly regular basis at the horse show. I will ask the next time I see her.

[Jaya]

Originally Posted by scooter

Well I see Kelly on a fairly regular basis at the horse show. I will ask the next time I see her.

Pls do and let us know if that is not indiscreet.... I wonder if the ring of the Duchess carries any karma?

[CordeliaFitzgerald]

I love, love, love the various pieces that the Duke had made for Wallis, and I can't fathom why the British Royals have never tried to get any of them back. (Yes, I know the family has more than enough jewels to keep itself supplied, but one would think they would want it back to due the family and historic connections.)

[purple_Lulu]

Originally Posted by CordeliaFitzgerald

I love, love, love the various pieces that the Duke had made for Wallis, and I can't fathom why the British Royals have never tried to get any of them back. (Yes, I know the family has more than enough jewels to keep itself supplied, but one would think they would want it back to due the family and historic connections.)

It is said that the Prince of Wales has competed at auction for various pieces for his wives. He apparently had quite a go at a PoW feathers brooch for Diana but was outbid by Elizabeth Taylor.

[muriel]

Originally Posted by CordeliaFitzgerald

I love, love, love the various pieces that the Duke had made for Wallis, and I can't fathom why the British Royals have never tried to get any of them back. (Yes, I know the family has more than enough jewels to keep itself supplied, but one would think they would want it back to due the family and historic connections.)

I suspect it was largely because there really was no family connection to those jewels. Those jewels were largely acquired by the Duke after he abdicated, though he may have owned some of the stones beforehand.

[Jaya]

Originally Posted by muriel

I suspect it was largely because there really was no family connection to those jewels. Those jewels were largely acquired by the Duke after he abdicated, though he may have owned some of the stones beforehand.

The jewels the Duchess had set for her were rather contemporary settings and I do not actually consider very royal looking but more cosmopolitan in style; hence not suited to the royals at all.In the BRF they have the Winterhalter "look" about their jewellery and Wallis and they were diametrically opposites in tastes.Also there was no historical attachment to those jewels so the BRF was not except for Charles interested.

[scooter]

Originally Posted by Jaya

Pls do and let us know if that is not indiscreet.... I wonder if the ring of the Duchess carries any karma?

Neither the ring nor the famous pearls helped with Kelly and Calvin. They have been seperated but not divorced for 5 or 6 years.