Forget Meghan Markle, Wallis Simpson shook the British royal family to its core – and helped make Cartier’s panther design its emblem
Meghan Markle isn’t the first American divorcee to have rocked the British royal family to its core.
Long before Markle married Prince Harry in 2018 and became the Duchess of Sussex, Wallis Simpson was on her second marriage in 1931 when she met the then Prince of Wales. Five years later, after Edward’s accession as king, she divorced her second husband to marry Edward VIII. However, the marriage only took place six months after Edward had abdicated the throne, making way for his brother George in December 1936.
Those in the couple’s inner circle often described their relationship as tumultuous and lopsided; Edward was clearly infatuated with Simpson (he did give up his throne to marry her), but it was questionable whether the feelings were reciprocated.
Although many questioned her love for Edward, no one ever doubted Simpson’s attachment to fine jewels. Devoted to French jewellery houses Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, the Duchess of Windsor had amassed a remarkable collection by the time she died, and a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva yielded US$45 million, seven times the pre-sale estimate.
Elizabeth Taylor and Joan Collins were among the celebrities there, and the auction made headlines around the world.
Designs from some of her favourite jewellers became associated with her as much as they were with the various fashion houses. Two high jewellery designs remain symbols of that impeccable taste.
Van Cleef & Arpels’ Zip necklace applies the highest level of jewel-making artistry to a contemporary invention; it was an idea dreamt up by the duchess herself. Simpson suggested to the house’s artistic director in 1938 that she wanted a jewellery piece modelled on the zip.
The design was so intricate that the first Zip necklace, crafted in platinum and mounted with baguette cut diamonds, wasn’t produced until 1950; and it fastened like a zip, allowing the piece to be worn in numerous ways.
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Prince Edward gifted Simpson several pieces from Cartier, including an amethyst bib necklace. Simpson was fond of Cartier’s panther design and had two prominent big cat pieces in her collection. She’s credited with making the emblem of the house incredibly popular; the panther remains a symbol of Cartier to this day, and often features in contemporary designs.
Simpson’s famous panther bracelet surfaced at auction in 2010, when it was bought by Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the consort of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the former emir of Qatar, for US$7.4 million. It was a piece that often found its way onto the duchess’ wrists and one that was commissioned by Edward.
One of Simpson’s favourite pieces of jewellery was a 1949 Cartier diamond panther pin that depicts the cat standing on top of a 152-carat sapphire.
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Edward VIII abdicated the British throne to marry Wallis Simpson, the Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels devotee whose favourite jewellery designs still dazzle today