Jewel__A_Celebration_of_Earth_s_Treasures

DUCHESS OF WINDSOR’S CARTIER FLAMINGO BROOCH 225

T

his Cartier flamingo

was commissioned

by the Duke of

Windsor for Wallis

Simpson, the woman for

whom he gave up the British

throne. It is one of the most

famous of the numerous jewels

that he bestowed on her.

The brilliant-cut, calibrated

(uniformly sized) diamonds

have a pavé setting in the platinum and

yellow-gold base to create the glittering

body and legs of the flamingo. The

plumage of the wings and tail is composed

of step-cut emeralds, rubies, and

sapphires. The eye is a single sapphire

cabochon (a polished rather than faceted

stone) while the beak is formed from citrine

and sapphire cabochons.

American socialite Wallis Simpson had

already been twice divorced when she

captured the attention of the heir to the

British throne, Edward VIII, in 1934. The

prince was determined to marry her at

any cost, causing a crisis when the

reigning monarch King George V

died. Edward was now the

head of the Church of

England, which did not

permit divorcées to remarry.

Unable to bring himself to

relinquish Simpson, Edward

abdicated in 1936, and his

younger brother George VI

became king, granting

Edward the title “Duke of

Windsor”.

Edward commissioned the flamingo

brooch for his wife three years after their

wedding. As materials, he supplied one

of her necklaces and four of her bracelets

to Cartier’s director Jeanne Touissant in

Paris. Touissant, together with her design

partner, Peter Lemarchand, used the

reclaimed gems to complete the flamingo

jewel in 1940.

The Duke presented the brooch to

his wife, now the Duchess of Windsor, for

her birthday that year and it became one

of her most treasured pieces. After

her death it was owned by private

collectors, and was exhibited by

Cartier in 2013.

Key dates

1934–2013

1930

1935

1940

1960

2000

1937 On 3 June, Edward,

now Duke of Windsor,

marries Simpson, who

becomes Duchess

of Windsor

1936 On 13 December,

Edward abdicates in

order to marry Simpson

1934 Wallis Simpson

meets Edward VIII

1936 On 22 January, King

George V dies and Edward

VIII inherits the throne

1940 The Duke of Windsor

brings a necklace and

bracelets to Cartier, Paris

to be used in the creation

of the flamingo brooch. It

is completed and presented

to Simpson on her birthday

1987 The brooch is put

up for auction at Sotheby’s

2010 The brooch is

auctioned again by Sotheby’s

2013 The brooch appears

in an exhibition by Cartier.

It remains in private hands

1972 The Duke

of Windsor dies

1986 Wallis Simpson dies

2010

2015

1980

The Duke and Duchess

of Windsor on their

wedding day

Duchess of Windsor’s Cartier flamingo brooch

Duchess of Windsor’s emerald and

ruby 20th-anniversary Cartier brooch

△ Wallis Simpson, later the Duchess of Windsor, 1936

Duchess of Windsor’s gem and

diamond Cartier bracelet

224-225_STO_Cartier_Flamingo_Brooch.indd 225 07/06/2016 16:13