A guest on popular show Antiques Roadshow brought with her an amethyst necklace, a family heirloom, believed to have belonged to a British socialite and the mistress of King Edward VII.
If the guest was looking for a nice payday, her hopes were quickly dashed when jewelry expert Sarah Churgin valued the piece at “$3,000 to $4,000” after explaining the story behind it.
“If it had royal provenance, we could double that price,” Churgin said.
Before Churgin put her valuable jewelry expertise to use, the guest was giddy to tell the story of how she acquired the amethyst necklace from her mistress Lillie Langtry.
She said: “I have an amethyst necklace that belonged to my husband’s great-grandmother. I inherited it last year from my mother-in-law when she passed away.
The guest (pictured) posing with the amethyst necklace believed to have belonged to socialite Lillie Langtry
Close-up on Sarah Churgin, expert in amethyst necklaces, worth between $3,000 and $4,000.
British actress Lily Langtry (1853-1929), the first woman in the professional theater world, as well as a theater manager, racehorse owner and mistress to the Prince of Wales, Edward VII.
The guest explained that her mother-in-law purchased the necklace at an auction in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1929, the year Langtry died.
She said her mother-in-law “loved amethyst, because we have an amethyst letter opener, amethyst rings, she was really into amethyst, which I read Lillie Langtry was also “.
Langtry was born in 1853 on Jersey, a small British crown island off the coast of France. After the end of her first marriage, she moved to London where she met the future King Edward VII in 1877 at a dinner. At this time he was still Prince of Wales and would not become king until 1901.
According to Churgin, Edward “maneuvered to sit next to (Langtry) and that began a relationship that lasted for many years.”
“They were lovers for three years, then she became pregnant with another man’s child. Interestingly, Edward VII bought her a house in Bournemouth and actually paid for her childbirth (post- partum) in Paris She ended up with property in California and she died in Monaco in 1929,” Churgin added.
The year 1929, when Langtry died, was the same year that the auction took place in Atlantic City, where the guest’s mother-in-law snatched Langtry’s necklace from a man named Harold A Brand.
Churgin revealed that in 1949, Brand was “raised on several conspiracy charges, for conspiracy to defraud.”
Churgin questioned the authenticity of the mounting of the amethyst and the case it came in
Langtry (pictured) died in Monaco in 1929, the same year the guest’s mother-in-law reportedly purchased one of his necklaces in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Edward VII (1841 – 1910) was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and became King of Great Britain in 1901.
‘Oh my God!’ the guest exclaimed, her shock written on her face.
Churgin, beyond casting doubt on the seller of the amethyst necklace, has generated skepticism about the value of the piece alone.
“What we have here is a very pretty amethyst necklace from the art deco period. King Edward gave jewelry to his lovers and his wife by famous designers,” Churgin said. “This piece bears no maker’s mark.”
Churgin added that the amethyst had been remounted and that the box the necklace arrived in was of “fairly commercial quality” for its time.
“So the case isn’t sophisticated enough either!” joked the guest.
Churgin concluded by saying: “If it had been given by Edward VII to Lillie Langtry that would be one thing, but nevertheless a fair value at auction would be $3,000-$4,000.”
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