Platinum, Sapphire and Diamond Bracelet, France, Circa 1925

The flexible strap set with rectangular-shaped sapphires weighing approximately 10.00 carats, flanked by small square sapphires, set throughout with old European-cut and single-cut diamonds weighing approximately 4.00 carats, length 7 inches, numbered 1472, French workshop mark CH, French assay marks.

Set with 10 rectangular-shaped and 50 square-cut sapphires of medium deep blue color and very slightly to moderately included; minor color zoning. Surface abrasions to most of the facet junctions and a few of the smaller calibré-cuts are lightly chipped. Also set with 160 diamonds approximately F-G color and VS clarity. In good condition and fitted with a safety closure. Marks on female end of clasp: CH within a lozenge, MD and 60657. The workshop mark of CH bisected by sideways triangle is possibly for Holl. As noted on page 46 of Cartier: 1900-1939 by Judy Rudoe, Holl was one of a number of Parisian workshops that has manufactured items for Cartier.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion. Illustrations in the catalogue may not be actual size. Prospective purchasers are reminded that, unless the catalogue description specifically states that a stone is natural, we have assumed that some form of treatment may have been used and that such treatment may not be permanent. Our presale estimates reflect this assumption.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Maud Simpson Smiley (1878-1962) was the sister of Ernest Aldrich Simpson (1897-1958), a London-based shipping magnate.  The siblings enjoyed a close relationship, and it was through Maud that Ernest met his second wife, Wallis Warfield Simpson.  Ernest Simpson's personal life became a matter of public intrigue in the 1930s when Mrs. Simpson began a romantic relationship with Edward, Prince of Wales.  Only months into his reign as king, Edward proposed marriage to Mrs. Simpson, creating a constitutional crisis that ultimately lead to his abdication.  Wallis, upon her marriage to Edward in 1937, assumed the title of Duchess of Windsor.

Born in New York City and educated at Harvard, Ernest Simpson served briefly as Captain of the Coldstream Guards during World War I.  He married his first wife, Dorothea Dechert, in New York in 1923. The bride was the great-grand daughter of Theophilus Parsons, a Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court and a president of Harvard. In 1924 the couple had a daughter, Audrey Simpson, who inherited the present bracelet from her aunt in 1962.