The Duchess of Windsor lot is the most popular one at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction, which will be held on November 11 in Geneva (you can see some of the most interesting pieces in the video). In particular, a brooch and a tiger-shaped bracelet by Cartier, from the legendary collection of Wallis Simpson, wife of King Edward VIII of England. Two pieces in yellow gold, onyx, diamonds, with emerald eyes, purchased between 1956 and 1959 by the royal couple and auctioned in 1987, along with five other big cats from the same maison. The rarity of these two examples of Parisian high jewelry is also accentuated by the romantic story of the person who wore them. While everything is known about King Edward VIII and his renunciation of the throne to marry a divorced American, Wallis Simpson, less is known about the great love and subsequent marriage between the soprano Sarah Brightman and Andrew Lloyd Webber. He, a well-known theatre producer, bought these two jewels for his wife, who starred in the theatrical adaptation of the book, to celebrate the enormous success of The Phantom of the Opera, on stage in London and Broadway. The jewels have a unique story, which has pushed the Swiss auction house to set a maximum estimate of 2 and a half million dollars. Who will be the collector who wins them?
