Nelson’s Lost Jewel: The Extraordinary Story of the Lost Diamond Chelengk, Downer, Martyn. Published by The History Press, 2021. Card covers. 8vo up to 9½” tall., 288pp. with 36 colour illustrations, notes, bibliography and index. In fine, unread condition.
Admiral Lord Nelson’s diamond Chelengk is one of the most famous and iconic jewels in British history. Presented to Nelson by the Sultan Selim III of Turkey after the Battle of the Nile in 1798, the jewel had thirteen diamond rays to represent the French ships captured or destroyed at the action. A central diamond star on the jewel was powered by clockwork to rotate in wear. Nelson wore the Chelengk on his hat like a turban jewel, sparking a fashion craze for similar jewels in England. The jewel became his trademark to be endlessly copied in portraits and busts to this day. After Trafalgar, the Chelengk was inherited by Nelson’s family and worn at the Court of Queen Victoria. Sold at auction in 1895 it eventually found its way to the newly opened National Maritime Museum in Greenwich where it was a star exhibit. In 1951 the jewel was stolen in a daring raid by an infamous cat-burglar and lost forever.
Martyn Downer is the world s leading specialist in objects, relics and artefacts relating to the life and career of Admiral Lord Nelson. Formerly Head of Jewellery at Sotheby s, London, he is the author of several books, including Nelson s Purse, a best-selling account of his discovery of a lost trove of Nelson treasures.
