Windsor jewels sale next April

Press, 10 January 1987, Page 11

Windsor jewels sale next April

NZPA-Reuter London The jewels which the Duke of Windsor gave to Wallis Simpson, the woman for whose love he gave up the British throne, will be auctioned in Geneva next April, Sotheby’s announced recently. It described the sale of diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds as the most important of its kind this century, combining, “extraordinary taste, quality, history and, above all, romance.” More than 200 items are on offer and are expected to raise more than £5 million for the Pasteur Institute, Sotheby’s said. The Paris-based centre, which conducts a wide range of biological research and has been at the forefront of the search for a vaccine against the deadly virus, A.1.D.5., was named the main beneficiary of the Duchess’s fortune. The announcement of the auction came almost 50 years to the day after the Duke, then King Edward VIII, abdicated the throne to marry Mrs Wallis Simpson, an Ameri-can-born divorcee.

Telling the nation he could not rule without the support of the woman he loved, he stepped down in favour of his brother, George VI, father of the present Queen, and took the title Duke of Windsor. The Duchess’s death last April sparked controversy over whether her estate included jewels supposed to be Crown property, such as the set of emeralds given to her husband by his grandmother, Queen Alexandra, when he was still Edward VIII. But Buckingham Palace sources said any jewels belonging to the Crown were returned after the Duke’s death in 1972. Apart from a few specific bequests, all the jewellery which belonged to the Duchess’, is included in the sale. Prospective bidders have a rich choice of 87 pieces by Cartier of Paris, the most favoured jewellers of the Duke and Duchess, as well as 23 pieces by Van Cleef and Arpels. Many of the jewels bear very personal and now historic inscriptions. The Duchess’s favourite Van Cleef and Arpels ruby and

diamond necklace, a fortieth birthday present engraved, “My Wallis from her David 19/6/36,” is included, as well as a sapphire and diamond bracelet inscribed “For our contract 18-V-37,” two weeks before the couple were married. Several of the famous Cartier “Great Cat" gems in the form of panther and tiger bracelets and clips, as well a royal favourite of a sparkling flamingo brooch ablaze with rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds, are in the sale. Jewellery experts say news of the sale was bound to set the auction and art world buzzing. One possible buyer being tipped is the Egyptian financier, Mohammed AlFayed, billionaire owner of the fashionable London department store, Harrods. Al-Fayed, who also owns the Ritz in Paris, recently took over the lease on the Bois de Boulogne house in Paris which the Windsors occupied in exile. He is planning a £2 million sterling ($5.68 million) renovation of the property.