Precious Headwear
Garrard & Co

Arthur Wesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, the most decorated English commander and victor of the Battle of Waterloo, designed not only battle plans but also jewelry. It is known that he designed the gilt silver coronet (a type of diadem) featured at the Sotheby’s exhibition.

The inscription engraved on the inside reads: “This coronet was presented by Arthur, Duke of Wellington, to the Hon. M.A. Jervis, designed by him, and executed by Messrs. Garrard. 16th August 1838.” Sotheby’s website cites another quote from the Duke of Wellington explaining why he “crowned” Mary Ann Jervis, daughter of the second Viscount St. Vincent, renowned not only for her beauty but also for her musical talent. After hearing her beautiful voice in Rossini’s opera La Cenerentola, Napoleon’s conqueror wrote to his friend, the Marchioness of Salisbury: “I will give her a crown for her performance of La Cenerentola… Louis Philippe gave her a crown because she was the best dancer in the school in Paris; I will give her a crown because she alone could sing a whole trio.”

The Duke carried out his plan by commissioning a crown of his own design from the renowned London house of Garrard: a solid band with 10 stylized crosses, with the letter W at the center, surmounted by a small crown set with diamonds.