1830 Queen Victoria gold brooch smashes estimate at $18,600 auction

A gold, enamel and garnet bodice brooch from 1830 that belonged to Queen Victoria made 14 times its pre-sale estimate at Bonhams in London earlier this week.

With a pre-sale estimate of £600 - 800, the brooch made £11,400, a figure that has astonished collectors and investors.

The finely detailed piece is embellished with green and red enamel, set with cabochon garnets that suspend an elongated drop of a similar design.

The brooch originally belonged to Victoria, Duchess of Kent, who on her death in 1861 left her jewellery to her daughter, Queen Victoria.


Queen Victoria and husband Prince Albert are both known for their jewellery

Queen Victoria subsequently gave the brooch to her third daughter Helena, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, as a present on her 24th birthday in 1870. The reverse of the brooch has a simple, yet very personal engraving: "Belonged to dear Grandmamma V. From Mama V.R. to Helena 25th May 1870."

Helena was considered the most active member of the royal family, carrying out an extensive programme of royal engagements. She was also a committed patron of charities, and was one of the founding members of the Red Cross.

 

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