Some jewels commissioned by royals are for their own personal use, and others are given as gifts to family members and trusted friends. On Wednesday, Sotheby’s sold an interesting cache of these presentation gift jewels, each emblazoned with royal cyphers—including a bracelet linked to Queen Victoria’s wedding.
The most elaborate of the presentation jewels included in Wednesday’s auction was this gorgeous diamond brooch. The jewel, which dates to 1850, can be worn as a brooch, a pendant, or the central element on a gold bracelet. It features the cypher of King Oscar I of Sweden, who reigned from 1844 until his death in 1859. The jewel sold for 8,960 Swiss francs, or around $10,760 USD.
Another cache of Scandinavian jewels also featured in interesting presentation brooch. This group of jewels—a pendant and two brooches—were given by Queen Maud of Norway to her her lady-in-waiting, Marie Fougner. Two of the jewels are set with amethysts, diamonds, and seed pearls. The third is a diamond presentation brooch, made around 1905, that includes the joint cypher of Maud’s parents, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom. The three jewels sold together for 6,144 Swiss francs, or around $7,378 USD.
One of Queen Maud’s cousins, Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain, offered this rock crystal and diamond presentation brooch as a token to an unnamed friend. You’ll spot Ena’s cypher in the center of the jewel, which was made in the 1920s. It sold for the same price as the lot of Maud’s jewels: 6,144 Swiss francs, or approximately $7,378 USD.
There were several yellow gold presentation pieces in the sale as well. This cigarette case was made in Paris by Boucheron in the 1930. The gold case is decorated with the cypher of King Farouk of Egypt in green, blue and white guilloché enamel. The case was presented to the Swiss diplomat Carl Stucki, likely during the installment of one of Egypt’s ambassadors to Switzerland. The presentation case sold for 14,080 Swiss francs, or about $16,908 USD.
This yellow gold clip brooch was made by Cartier in London in the 1930s. It features the monogram of the Duchess of Windsor, who gave it to Suzanne Begain (described by Sotheby’s as Wallis’s “faithful couturière”) before her marriage to the Duke of Windsor in 1937. The clip was previously sold in an auction at Christie’s in February 2005 for 10,200 Swiss francs. This time around, it brought 4,096 Swiss francs, or about $4,918 USD.
Perhaps the most intriguing presentation jewel included in the auction, though, is this gold bracelet, which features the monogram of Queen Victoria rendered in turquoises. Sotheby’s writes that the jewel was “gifted by Queen Victoria to one of her bridesmaids to commemorate her wedding” in 1840, clarifying that “it is not known who the precise original recipient of this bracelet was.” The bracelet, interestingly, also contains “a lock of plaited hair” in the compartment behind the cypher. The jewel sold on Wednesday for 15,360 Swiss francs, or about $18,445 USD.
The bridesmaid bracelet was featured on an episode of Antiques Roadshow in 2023. The floral decoration on the gold links is very similar to that on a bracelet owned by the Royal Collection. That jewel, the RCT notes, was “given by the Duchess of Kent to Queen Victoria on the day she announced her engagement to the Privy Council” in 1839. In her will, Queen Victoria stipulated that, after her death, the bracelet should be placed in the room in Windsor Castle where Prince Albert died. Notably, Albert also gave gifts to Victoria’s bridesmaids: turquoise brooches shaped like heraldic eagles.
There’s much more sparkle on the way this weekend! Over at Hidden Gems, I’m finishing up my two-part series on the royal wedding(s) of King Leopold III and Queen Astrid of Belgium, which took place 100 years ago this month. (Part one is available here!) And on Sunday, my free weekly digest newsletter will arrive in your email inboxes. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.