The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-06-29 00:00:00

SALE OF IMPERIAL JEWELS.

The sale of the magnificent personal ornaments in
jewellery belonging to a distinguished personage, at
Messrs. Christie, Manson, and Woods, in London, on
Monday, attracted a very large and rather fashion-
able assemblage, amongst whom were many ladies,
who seemed determined to brave the tremendous
heat of the room rather than miss seeing the splen-
did diamonds knocked down to the highest bidder.
The competition was often spirited, but evidently not
always warm enough to surpass the reserved price at
which some of the finest of these beautiful articles of
bijouterie were prized by the illustrious lady to whom
they belong. Ihe following will give an idea of the
prices given for the 123 lots sold:—

A bracelet, with pearls aed diamonds, £127 ls. ; a heart-
shaped locket, formed of hands of brilliants, and black
enamel, with rippon top, set with brilliant., 1:110 : a pair
of gold solitaires. with largo diamond centre, ; a
very small keyless watch, with the letter E in diamonds
on blue enamel ground, with gold chain set with rubies and
emeralds. £126 ; a handsome chased gcld snuff-box, the top
sot with Powers in lwilliants, and with the Paeha of Eapt's
cipher iu brilliants on blue enamel, £125 a beau
tind brooch, with an oblong intaglio of the combat of the
tioratil and Curatii in onyx, surrounded by diamonds, and
with pearl and brilliant drops, goo ; a gold tiara, beauti-
fully chased with laurel leaves, and with flower centre,
£42; a brooch, with pendant formed of five large tur-
n:wises and brilliants, £1,7 Is; a narrow gold brace-
let, with three pearls, and band. of diamonds and
emeralds, £46 45. ; a beautiful brooch, of ribbon pattern,
ith sprays, net with brilliants, £126 ; utmost-shaped pendant,
formed of a line large turquoise surrounded by brilliants,
I:250 ' • a large black pearl, with brilliant top, £102; a heart-
shaped brilliant locket, Elle ; a pair of shell-shaped brilliant
earriugs, with pearl centres and drops, £O6; a beautiful
brilliant brooch, formed aa a corn-flower, and group of
foliage, £540.

The total of the 123 lots, including the parasols and
fans, amounted to £48,800.

The Daily Tchgraph, in remarking upon the sale,
rays :
Chriatie's was on Monday a witness to the dbpersion of a
number of magnificent Jewels, described in the catalogue as
Site property of "a distinguished personage," but form-
ing only part of her collection of Injouterie. There
were heart-sharped lockets, brooches with pendants, pink
pearl ear-rings, a large black pearl with a brilliant top—it
fetched three hundred guineas—an emerald and brilliant
ring, a turquoi,e ring with a pink diamond that had belonged
to the Empress J osephine ; a group of three wheat ears in
diamonds ; ad ismund cross —it brought nine hundred guineas ;
a bracelet of sapphires, brilliants, and emeralds; • blue
enamelled diamond-set watch—elm ,p at sixteen hun-
dred pounds ; a diamond tiara : a pearl necklace,
which was knocked down to the lihrquis of Erlitol
for twenty-four hundred pounds ; and a brooch with
an emerald centre, which Mr. Keane BeCtired for five
thousand pounds. Another brooch of emeralds and brilliants
became the property of Mr. Graham fir a tr.fle over three
thousand live hundred pounds. The day's sale realised over
lifts thousand pounds, and after this we may draw a long
breath. The politic vl economist might neat proceed to de-
liver a very @Ill) hag discourse as to the vast mass of capital
which has been lying idle since these jewels came
from the manufacturers' hands, Others might inquire
somewhat superciliously what the intrinsic value of the gents
migot be, and how much allowance must he made for
fa.hionable taste and caprice, and the prestige attaching
to the ornaments from the high rack of their former
rest ssor. Again, stritimentalists might draw a very
long face indeed over the fact of the sale, and
paint most pitiful pictures of mightiness fallen and
splendour in ruins. It Is no secret that the " distin-
guished personage' to whom these jewels belonged is
the Empress EngCnie. llow does the scattering to the winds
of this rare cabinet of gewgaws allect that lady? We have
Ito means of knowing with certainty ; but we should say
that tht y mattered to her not so much as a snap of the finger
or the sluff of a candle. To part with real mementoes is
very grievous. The glove eta little child that is dead ; the
last letter from the dear friend we shall behold no more;
a look 'bf hair of the woman once loved—all these may
he ioestimable relics; but to one who has lived among
diamonds and to whom the selection of a brooch or brace-
let must have been for years a thing of as much indifference
as the Suleetioa of a strawlo fey from a rie.ssert dish, there
can be no great panels parting with the overflowing contents
of a jewel-case. Napoleon at St. II elerld never mouroed for
the jewels of the garde seeable, or even tir his silver soup
tureen, whic!l he sent—being short of cash—down to James
Town to be melted, lie mourned aid] he yearned tor the
wife ot his bosom and the son of his loins. Diamonds coals
arid go, and only fools prise them for wore than they are
worth.