On Thursday, 12 June, our sister company Dreweatts will be holding its Fine Jewellery auction. A standout highlight is a stunning Van Cleef & Arpels yellow sapphire and diamond brooch, accompanied by a matching pair of earrings. These exquisite pieces once belonged to Ann Fleming, the wife of literary icon, Ian Fleming, who is best known as the creator of the legendary spy, James Bond.

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The jewels were purchased for Ann at Van Cleef & Arpels in Paris during 1938 by her husband of the time Lord O’Neill of Shanes Castle. Since the summer of 1936 Ann had been having an affair with Esmond Harmsworth, not yet Lord Rothermere, who would become her second husband, and later with Ian Fleming, who would become her third husband.

When Ann heard that her first husband was going to go to Paris for a weekend with Maureen Dufferin and Ava, the Guinness heiress and a neighbour in Northern Ireland, she insisted on coming along too. When her husband complained that it would make them uneven numbers, she decided to bring her lover Esmond Harmworth along too.

To give this odd party some respectability, Nancy and John Hare (later Lord Blakenham) were invited. Nancy wrote a poem about it called A Weekend in Paris. Over the course of this weekend something happened: Ann decided, as Nancy put it, ‘to vamp her husband.’ There was a rapprochement and this short-lived reconciliation was celebrated by the gift of these jewels by Van Cleef & Arpels from Lord O’Neill to his wife Ann. The lover and the mistress were then, as expressed in Nancy’s poem, ‘put upon their mettle,’ which resulted in Esmond presenting Maureen with diamond clips from Cartier in Paris, and in the final happening, Esmond was induced to present Ann with diamond clips from Cartier in London.

In Nancy’s poem Ann is lightly disguised as Jane. The final couplet goes: ‘Dear Jane, I think gets all the Laurels, Altho’ I can’t applaud her morals.’

Each piece is designed as a flower head with cushion shaped yellow sapphire petals and circular cut sapphire cluster centre to polished gold leaves. The brooch is further adorned with sapphire accents and intricately designed leaves encrusted with diamonds, enhancing its elegance and sophistication.

• Tuesday 3 June: 10am-4pm
• Wednesday 4 June: 10am-4pm

• Sunday 8 June: 10am-3pm
• Monday 9 June: 10am-4pm
• Tuesday 10 June: 10am-4pm
• Wednesday 11 June: 10am-4pm