Windsor diamonds on the auction block
The King – who was never crowned – abdicated in 1936 to become the Duke of Windsor and marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
The 20 pieces that previously belonged to her are to be sold by Sotheby’s on November 30 with a formal estimate of about £3m (Dh16.9m).
Sotheby’s said the Windsors were enthusiastic jewellery collectors.
They commissioned pieces from Cartier and other makers during their courtship in the UK and married life in the Bahamas and France.
“The offering comprises incomparable examples of the genius of Cartier in collaboration with the Windsors,” said David Bennett, Chairman of Sotheby’s Jewelry in Europe and the Middle East, as quoted in a Bloomberg report.
“The inscriptions tell the story of perhaps the greatest love story of the 20th century.”
An unidentified owner is selling the items, which were acquired at Sotheby’s record “Jewels of the Duchess of Windsor” sale in Geneva in April 1987, Bloomberg said.
Eleven Cartier pieces are included in the new sale.
Among these is an onyx-and-diamond bracelet designed, with the Dukeís encouragement, in the form of a panther by Jeanne Toussaint for Cartier in 1952.
This is expected to sell for between £1m and £1.5m, as is a flamingo-shaped brooch by Toussaint that the Duchess bought in 1940.
At the 1987 auction, these pieces sold for the equivalent of £860,082 and £497,942, said Sotheby’s.
The Duchess’s Cartier diamond charm bracelet carries a low estimate of £350,000.
The piece features nine gem-set Latin crosses that commemorate moments of personal significance to the couple, including an assassination attempt on the King.
An 18-carat gold and gem-set cigarette case by Cartier inscribed with the words “David from Wallis Christmas 1935” and engraved with a map of holiday destinations they enjoyed together is expected to fetch at least £150,000.
Sotheby’s 1987 Duchess of Windsor sale in Geneva fetched CHF75.4 million (Dh262.5m), which remains an auction record for a single-owner collection of jewellery.