The Duchess of Windsor’s Jewels

Edward, Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII, showered his wife, the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson, with love and affection. And he equated this love and affection with priceless jewels that served as the basis of her multi-million dollar estate at the time of her death.

As king, but for only less than a year, Edward had the means to buy her all the precious jewelry he could. Socialite and diarist Sir Henry “Chips” Channon observed that Mrs. Simpson’s “collection of jewels is the talk of London.”  He also wrote: “The King must give her new jewels every day….He worships her…The king is insane about Wallis, insane…Cartier’s are resetting magnificent, indeed fabulous jewels for Wallis, and for what purpose if she is not to be Queen?”

Sadly, a number of these precious jewels , at £20,000 (already a fortune then) were stolen in 1946 while they were staying at the Earl of Dudley’s home, the Edenham Lodge. It was initially rumored to have been perpetrated by the British Royal Family so they could regain possession of jewels that were taken from the Royal Collection. In 1960, however, a certain Richard Dunphie confessed to committing the said crime.

The couple lived an itinerant life. They settled in France, stayed in the Bahamas during World War II when the duke was appointed governor-general, and holidayed in Cannes and St. Moritz. After the war, they finally settled on their villa in Paris and maintained a weekend retreat in the suburbs. Through the years the duchess had amassed a stupendous collection of jewels, many of them were presents from the duke. Unlike the members of the British Royal Family who acquired tiaras, parures and such, the duchess favored bracelets, pearls and pins.  She loved to adorn herself with her jewels that in her later years, Dudley Forword, the duke’s equerry described her as “blazing with rings, earrings, brooches, bracelets and necklaces, almost stooping under their weight.”

  When the Duke of Windsor died in 1972, his wife benefitted greatly from his fortune. With her liquid assets roughly worth £3 million and millions more kept in her fabulous jewelry collection, artworks, furniture and objects, the Duchess of Windsor was a wealthy lady. In fact, when Sotheby’s auctioned her jewelry in 1987, the sale realized over £30 million ($50 million), a shocking figure that shattered expectations.

The sale included 87 pieces by Cartier and 23 pieces by Van Cleef & Arpels. The amount represented six times the expected figure during an auction in Switzerland, the price tag, Sotheby's president John Marion explained, was boosted by the "unique outpouring of nostalgia".

It was a big event. The two-day sale attracted some 1,000 bidders and 300 members of the media who crowded into a huge tent erected by Sotheby's next to Lake Geneva. Sotheby's main salesroom in New York was swarmed by some 600 people to view slides of the jewels and to place their bids, which were then relayed to Geneva.

One of the jewels sold during the auction was the duchess’s engagement ring. According to John Culme, Sotheby’s director says: “The magnificent emerald was first purchased by Cartier in the 1920s. One of the Cartier jewellers went to Baghdad to see a collection of gems. He sent back a messenger to say he needed a very large sum of money. The money was sent but when the representative came back, all he brought was a tiny pouch. Out of it tumbled a very large, almost unsalable emerald.”

The 31.26-carat diamond ring originally owned by Washington socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean, got the highest price. The Japanese jeweller who won the bid paid nearly £2m ($3.15m). Elizabeth Taylor, meanwhile, who was a close friend to the Windsors, snapped a plume-shaped diamond brooch designed in 1935 by the then-Prince of Wales for his future bride, for more than £400,000 ($566,000). "I loved it so much, I had to buy it. It's the first important jewel I've ever bought myself," said of her purchase.

Among the Duchess of Windsor collection of jewelry gifts Edward lavished on her was the signature "Great Cats", which he commissioned from the House of Cartier. Of all her “cats”, it was the Panther Bracelet that took the most pride in wearing.  It was purchased for the permanent collection of The Franklin Mint.  Twenty-three years later the Panther Bracelet  was sold at auction for $7.4 million in 2010.  

Then, there’s the famous Cartier Flamingo Diamond Clip, which was set with many precious gems. Calibré-cut emeralds, rubies, and sapphires were used to set the plumage, while the beak is set with a cabochon citrine and sapphire.  The eye is set with a similarly cut sapphire.  Single-cut diamonds were set in the head, neck, body and hinged legs.

When all these treasures were sold, one may ask, where did the money go? Since the couple did not have children, the duchess willed that the proceeds of the sale of her jewelry be given to Pasteur Institute in Paris, known for its AIDS and cancer research.