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On 3 April 1987 the late Duchess of Windsor’s jewellery fetched
£31m ($50m) at auction in Switzerland. The sum was six times the
expected figure projected the collection would garner.
It was said that 1,000 bidders and 300 members of the media packed
into an enormous tent constructed by Sotheby’s next to Lake Geneva
for the two-day auction. Across the pond in New York there were an
additional 600 people in Sotheby’s central salesroom to observe
slides of the jewels and to have their bids dispatched to
Geneva.
Numerous items went for up to 10 times their anticipated price. The
highest price was nearly £2m ($3.15m) paid for a 31-carat diamond
ring.
A plume-shaped diamond brooch designed in 1935 by the then-Prince
of Wales for his future bride was sold for more than £400,000
($566,000) to actress Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor was a close
acquaintance of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. She had often been
in awe of the brooch when the duchess wore it and purchased it for
sentimental reasons. “I loved it so much; I had to buy it. It’s the
first important jewel I’ve ever bought myself,” Ms Taylor was
quoted as stating on internetstones.com.
A sapphire pendant was alleged to have been purchased by British
actress, Joan Collins.
The Duke of Windsor, previously King Edward VIII, is well known for
his choice of love over the British throne. He abdicated to marry
Wallis Simpson, the twice-divorced socialite from the United
States.
The couple had no children. The Duke died in 1972 and the Duchess
in 1986. In her will, the Duchess asked that the proceeds from an
auction of her jewellery collection to the Pasteur Institute in
Paris recognised for its AIDS and cancer research.
photo credit: Boston Public Library via
photopin cc]]>
