If, like us, you can’t wait for the next series of The Crown to start, you will already be familiar with Mrs. Simpson, the twice divorced American (oh, the Establishment must have wept!) that King Edward VIII loved so much, he was prepared to give up his throne and his life in Britain for.
She became quite famous for her elegance and wit, and of course, for her incredible jewellery collection, bestowed upon her by her besotted royal husband.
The jewellery collection of Wallace Simpson, who of course became the Duchess of Windsor, is testament to her husband’s undying love, as all through their 35-year marriage, the Duke showered his wife with custom-made jewels from the world’s major jewellery houses. No genteel obscurity for these two, if the word bling had been invented in the early 20th century, it may well have been applied to Wallace. She did say, famously: “I’m nothing to look at, so the only thing I can do is dress better than anyone else.”
In April 1987, the two-day sale of the jewels of the Duchess of Windsor at Sotheby’s would forever change the jewellery auction business, achieving a record-breaking $50.3m.
Many of the pieces were one-offs, created to her own designs, that defined the Duchess’s unique sense of style. It’s fair to say that at this auction there was a positive frenzy of bidding for each piece, pushing them to extraordinary heights and considerably beyond the estimates placed by the auction house.
As an example, an 18 karat gold and gem-set cigarette case inscribed: ‘David from Wallis Christmas 1935’, that was etched with a map tracing a holiday tour of Europe, sold for $266,000 – almost 100 times its appraised value, and the Duchess’s 19.77-carat emerald engagement ring, made by Cartier, sold for $2.1 million (4.5 times its estimate).
This incredible Cartier amethyst, turquoise and diamond collar necklace sold for a total of $373,996 and this custom-made panther clip earned $933,000, or seven times its estimate.
This extraordinary piece is made from white diamonds interspersed with cabochon cut sapphires for the panther’s spots and two yellow diamonds for its eyes. The big cat sits atop a 152.35 carat cabochon cut Kashmir sapphire, an unmistakable statement of majesty.
Made by Cartier in 1949 (a time when the British people really knew the meaning of austerity) the panther clip screams defiance, don’t you think? As the couple had been flattered by the attentions of Herr Hitler during the 1930’s (much to the dismay, again, of the British Establishment), and were seen ever after as Nazi sympathisers, this wasn’t perhaps the best move they ever made.
Whatever the truth behind their love, marriage and life one thing remains inarguable – Wallace Simpson gathered one of the most extraordinary jewellery collections ever conceived and one which continues to dazzle lovers of fine jewellery and set the standard of imaginative design today. And for this, she will ever be remembered.
The Padparadscha is a special variety of sapphire. The sapphire is a corundum crystal, and comes in all shades of the rainbow. Only two have been awarded their own special name though – the very rare red sapphire, which is called a ruby, and the also very rare orange-pink sapphire, named the padparadscha.
The gemstone is neither pink, nor orange, but a glorious combination of the two, reminiscent of a an unforgettable sunset.
