Duchess of Windsor Jewellery

[micas]

I belive is no threat for this Lady that have amaizing jewels.
I look for all threat and i don't see nothing i hope be correct.

Well, here it is a great pearls neckless.

http://worldroots.com/brigitte/gifs22/wallissimpson.jpg

[Fireweaver]

Wonderful necklace!

[micas]

Look at this :woot: :woot: :woot: :woot: :woot:

http://pro.corbis.com/images/0000330294-02...a-3c71fbbbe447}

http://pro.corbis.com/images/0000330294-01...8-ca98ffe014df}

[Fireweaver]

Danjel's site has some gorgeous photos/closeups of her jewels.

http://nl.msnusers.com/RoyaltyDanjel...swindsorw.msnw

[Jacqueline]

Does anyone know if all of her jewels were sold at auction? Did she leave anything in particular to someone or give any gifts before her death.

[Elspeth]

Some of her jewels were sold to cover the expense of her medical care when she needed full-time nursing for all those years. I think she's supposed to have left (or given) at least one piece of jewellery each to the Duchess of Kent and Princess Alexandra. She might have also given pieces to friends, but the bulk of her jewellery was auctioned to benefit the Pasteur Institute.

Those pieces in the second post are paste, not real jewels (although they still fetched a tidy sum at the Fayed auction of the Windsor's property). One of the strings of pearls in the first post was given (or left) to her by Queen Mary; it's the only thing Queen Mary ever gave her, I think.

[micas]

A new pic with some new bracelets and broches :flower: :flower:


http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/3097408....CFB87BFBB646308

[micas]

A very large brooche

http://pro.corbis.com/images/UKD549-7INP.j...6-7839cccf4e1d}

[wymanda]

One of the most emotive pieces the Duchess owned. It was sold to Elizabeth Taylor

http://www.majestymagazine.com/images/item...c4d31ca5542.jpg

[micas]

A CAMEO DEPICTING EDWARD VIII WITH WALLIS SIMPSON IS SEEN AT CHRISTIES AUCTION HOUSE IN ROME
Título original: A cameo depicting Edward VIII with Wallis Simpson, the American divorcee woman for who Edward VIII abdicated from the British throne, is seen at Christies auction house in Rome June 16, 2004. The 14 letters, in which the king tells the still-married American Wallis Simpson youll never know how much I love you, are part of a collection of photographs, clothing and royal memorabilia being sold by the couple's Italian valet. The 187 lots are estimated to fetch up up to 400,000 euros.

http://pro.corbis.com/images/DWF15-768690....d-74f399969b60}

HANDBAG AND GLOVES BELONGING TO WALLIS SIMPSON ARE SEEN AT CHRISTIES AUCTION HOUSE IN ROME
Título original: The handbag and gloves belonging to Wallis Simpson, the American divorcee woman for whom Edward VIII abdicated from the British throne, are seen at Christies auction house in Rome June 16, 2004. The 14 letters, in which the king tells the still-married American Wallis Simpson you'll never know how much I love you, are part of a collection of photographs, clothing and royal memorabilia being sold by the couple's Italian valet. The 187 lots are estimated to fetch up up to 400,000 euros.

http://pro.corbis.com/images/DWF15-768693....9-310b5da52f15}

[Lalla Meriem]

She also left jewels to Marie-Christine. I didn't know she had left anything else to any of the other royal ladies but I know Marie-Christine was told never to wear the jewels HG left her in front of EIIR or QM.

[Josefine]

are there more photos of her jewllery

[semisquare]

he must of loved her very much not only to give up the crown for her but the jewels he give her. they must have cost a bundle, they are so beautiful

[Victoria1999]

I have a stupid question...how they were able to afford all these jewels and to have this extravagant life. I know that the ex-king used to receive money from the crown, but still....they were known for their lifestyle.

[Elspeth]

I think he bought a lot of jewels while he was Prince of Wales and then King; some of the later pieces were created by breaking up older pieces with out-of-date settings and resetting the stones.

However, he also bought a lot of new stuff after their marriage. I don't think they were as badly off as they liked to think. They were certainly being paid a tidy sum to stay out of England, and then there was the money from the sale of Sandringham and Balmoral to George VI and the money he'd saved as Prince of Wales. He never had to pay a lot for his living expenses; I think his rental on the house at the Bois de Boulogne was very low, and the Mill was the only place he actually owned. The Windsors also had many rich friends, who probably helped subsidised their lifestyle.

[Warren]

The rent on the Paris house was "peppercorn" (token) rent.

The lifestyle of the Duke and Duchess is just another of the great mysteries of Royal wealth.

The Duke of Windsor was forever complaining about how hard up he was, especially to his brother George VI in unwelcome phone calls and letters, yet managed to come up with the readies over a longish period of time to buy fabulous jewels. Maybe they budgeted well on the groceries.
.

[XRogue]

One of the main reasons the Windsors lived in France for so many years is that the French government never charged them any kind of income tax on their investments and whatnot. Saved them a great deal of money, on top of the pittance they paid for rent.

[auntie]

Originally Posted by micas

Look at this :woot: :woot: :woot: :woot: :woot:

http://pro.corbis.com/images/0000330294-02...a-3c71fbbbe447}

http://pro.corbis.com/images/0000330...-ca98ffe014df}

My! this lady was extravagent!!!

[iowabelle]

I would bet that Wallis received gifts of clothing from couturiers because she was a style icon.

[branchg]

Most of the jewels acquired by the Duchess over the years utilized precious gems and stones the Duke was given as Prince of Wales. He was given many beautiful and valuable gifts of stones by the Indian princes before becoming King, which were later set into pieces for Wallis by Cartier, Harry Winston and the like. Some of her jewelry was broken apart periodically and reset into new pieces when she tired of them.

The Duke and Duchess were never as rich as many people imagined, although they certainly were wealthy. The Duke left England with approximately $20 million (in today's dollars), which was invested wisely by American friends and British bankers. His income from the royal family was approximately $100,000 annually (in today's money), which wasn't much when you consider the huge staff they employed in Paris and their travel expenses. The Mill cost them a fortune to renovate and Wallis was constantly redecorating their house in Paris as well. It was a very expensive lifestyle.

They were able to maintain this style of living mainly because of their tax-free status in France, the token rent paid for the Paris house and the fact that many of their purchases were accompanied by a significant discount because of their celebrity. But, by the time the Duke died in 1973, it was said their fortune was severely depleted and the Duchess had about $3 million in cold hard cash.

It's true Madame Blum sold a significant amount of furnishings and objects after 1975 to provide cash for the ever-increasing cost of private medical care of the Duchess after her final stroke. None of her jewels were touched though. In 1980, the Queen contacted Blum and informed her she would assume all of the Household and medical expenses for the Duchess.

The Duchess left a couple of pieces of jewelry to Princess Michael, Princess Alexandra and the Duchess of Kent in her will. A few other pieces were left to her close friends and the rest was auctioned off. It's true Queen Mary left her a beautiful strand of pearls when she died in 1952.