Wallis Simpson bracelet fetches world record price

A bracelet owned by Wallis Simpson, whose love affair with Edward VIII led to his abdication, sold for a world record £4.5 million at an auction.

The Cartier-designed onyx and diamond panther bracelet reached £4,521,250 at Sotheby’s in central London – the highest price any bracelet has ever been sold for at auction. It also became the most expensive Cartier item to be sold at any auction.

It was one of 20 pieces owned by the late Duke and Duchess of Windsor to go under the hammer in the sale, which raised a total of £7,975,550. The jewellery had been expected to fetch in the region of £3 million.

A ruby, sapphire, emerald, citrine and diamond Cartier flamingo clip was one of the other big successes of the night, reaching £1,721,250. All prices include the buyer’s premium. David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby’s Jewellery in Europe and the Middle East, said the Duchess was “a leader of fashion and the epitome of elegance and sophistication for her generation and beyond”.

He said: “The offering comprises not only incomparable examples of the genius of Cartier in collaboration with the Windsors, but also pieces whose inscriptions tell the story of perhaps the greatest love story of the 20th century, the romance that led Edward VIII to abdicate the throne of Great Britain.”

Madonna, who is directing WE, a film about the abdication, is reported to have tried on several of the items ahead of the sale. She is said to have shown particular interest in the panther bracelet, but a Sotheby’s spokesman could not confirm the identity of its new owner.