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A guest on the popular show Antiques Roadshow brought with her an amethyst necklace, a family heirloom, that supposedly belonged to a British socialite and the mistress of King Edward VII.
If the guest was looking for a nice pay day, her hopes were quickly dashed when jewelry expert Sarah Churgin appraised the piece at just ‘$3,000 to $4,000’ after explaining the history behind it.
‘If it had royal provenance, we can double that price,’ Churgin said.
Before Churgin flexed her precious jewelry expertise, the guest was giddy to retell the story of how she acquired mistress Lillie Langtry’s amethyst necklace.
She said: ‘I have an amethyst necklace that was my husband’s great-grandmother’s. I inherited it last year from my mother-in-law when she died.’
The guest (pictured) posing with the amethyst necklace supposedly once owned by socialite Lillie Langtry
Close up of the amethyst necklace expert Sarah Churgin valued at $3,000 to $4,000
The British actress, Lily Langtry (1853-1929), the first society woman in professional theater, as well as a theater manager, racehorse owner, and mistress of the Prince of Wales, Edward VII.
The guest explained that her mother-in-law bought 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 excited about amethyst which I read Lillie Langtry also was.’
Langtry was born in 1853 on Jersey, a small British crown-dependent island off the coast of France. After her first marriage ended, she moved to London where she met the future King Edward VII in 1877 at a dinner party. At that time, he was still the Prince of Wales and wouldn’t become king until 1901.
According to Churgin, Edward ‘maneuvered to sit next to [Langtry] and it began a relationship that lasted many years.’
‘They were lovers for three years and then she got pregnant with another man’s child. Now interestingly, Edward VII purchased a house for her in Bournemouth and actually paid for her [postpartum] confinement 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 the auction happened in Atlantic City where the guest’s mother-in-law snagged Langtry’s necklace from a man named Harold A Brand.
Churgin revealed that in 1949 Brand was ‘brought up on multiple conspiracy charges, for conspiracy of fraud.’
Churgin cast doubt on 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 supposedly bought one of her necklaces in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Edward VII (1841 – 1910) was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and later became King of Great Britain in 1901
‘Oh my goodness!’ the guest exclaimed, her shock written all over her face.
Churgin, beyond casting doubt on the seller of the amethyst necklace, raised skepticism about the piece’s worth on its own.
‘What we do have here is a really nice amethyst necklace from the art deco period. King Edward gave jewelry to his lovers and to his wife by famous makers,’ Churgin said. ‘This piece does not have any maker marks on it.’
Churgin added that the amethyst had been remounted and the box the necklace came in was ‘fairly commercial quality’ for its era.
‘So the case is not fancy enough either!’ the guest joked.
Churgin concluded by saying: ‘Had it been given by Edward VII to Lillie Langtry, it would be one thing but nonetheless, a fair auction value would be $3,000 to $4,000.’
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