Editor’s Note
A piece of royal history is up for auction. This Cartier brooch, once belonging to Wallis Simpson, is a glittering artifact from one of the 20th century’s most famous love stories.
(AP=Yonhap News) An emerald, ruby, and diamond-decorated Cartier brooch, once owned by Wallis Simpson, the wife of former British King Edward VIII, is on display at Sotheby’s auction house in London on the 22nd. This brooch, one of 20 pieces they owned, is expected to sell for £100,000-150,000 ($152,000-$230,000) on November 30.
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Twenty cherished jewels of Wallis Warfield Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor famous for her century-spanning romance with Britain’s Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor, will be offered at a Sotheby’s auction in London on November 30, the British daily The Times online edition reported on the 23rd.
These jewels are part of those offered in the 1987 auction of the Duchess of Windsor’s entire jewelry collection, which sold for over £30 million (approximately 55 billion won), the largest jewelry auction of the 20th century.
Sotheby’s has only stated that these jewels have been part of a “private collection” and has not disclosed who purchased them at the time or where they have been for the past 23 years.
The 20 pieces to be offered this time showcase the love story between the Duke of Windsor and Mrs. Simpson, which led him to abdicate the British throne.
A Cartier diamond bracelet, known to be Mrs. Simpson’s favorite, is composed of nine gem-set crosses linked together, each inscribed with text.
One references their wedding, another her recovery from appendicitis, and the phrase “God Save the King for Wallis” alludes to an assassination attempt on the Duke.
Also included are cufflinks inscribed with their initials ‘W’ and ‘E’ and the phrase “Hold Tight,” which they frequently used in letters before their marriage. Additionally, a gem-set Cartier gold cigarette case engraved with the routes of three vacations they took between 1934 and 1936, a flamingo-shaped brooch set with rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds, and a panther-shaped bracelet set with onyx and diamonds will be offered.
The jewels were sold for £3.5 million in the 1987 auction and are estimated to fetch between £2.9 million and £4.2 million in this auction.