A Verdura unicorn brooch with royal provenance and a deeply personal connection to its maker goes under the hammer at Elmwood’s in London on Aug. 19, estimated at £20,000 to £30,000 (approximately $26,900 to $40,300).
The piece belonged to Virginia Fortune Ryan Ogilvy, Dowager Countess of Airlie, who died in August 2024 at 91 after serving as a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth II for nearly five decades. The first American lady-in-waiting, she was born into one of New York’s most prominent Gilded Age families: Her maternal grandfather was financier Otto Hermann Kahn and her paternal great-grandfather, industrialist Thomas Fortune Ryan.
Virginia married Lord Ogilvy in 1952 at a Westminster ceremony attended by the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret. She was appointed to her royal position in 1973 and remained at the Queen’s side until the monarch’s death in 2022, accompanying her on state visits including the 2007 Jamestown anniversary trip to the United States and the 2018 reception of President and Melania Trump at Windsor Castle.
What distinguishes this brooch beyond its owner is the nature of her connection to its maker. Fulco di Verdura, the Sicilian-born designer who worked alongside Coco Chanel in Paris before establishing his own New York house in 1939, was a family friend going back to Virginia’s childhood. Her mother and aunt were close to Verdura from at least 1923.
Virginia herself was among the very few people permitted to visit the designer’s studio and watch him work. According to Patricia Corbett’s biography Verdura: The Life and Work of a Master Jeweler, Virginia would stop in on her way home from school. That kind of access to one of the 20th century’s most celebrated jewelry designers is not something that comes with most lots.
The brooch depicts a unicorn’s head emerging from a cabochon turquoise–set crown, with a pear-shaped diamond fringe, a diamond-set horn, and a brilliant-cut diamond flower held in the unicorn’s mouth—approximately 1.10 cts. t.w. of diamonds in total, signed Verdura. The unicorn was a recurring Verdura motif, with the designer drawing inspiration from folk carvings on early American carousels.
“This is an exceptional Verdura jewel, but what makes it particularly fascinating is the very personal story behind it,” said Joe Kendrick, head of sale at Elmwood’s, in a statement.
The sale takes place Aug. 19 at Elmwood’s, London.
(Photo courtesy of Elmwood’s)
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