Head first

Nancy Astor arrived from Virginia, conquered society and then annoyed Winston Churchill by being the first woman to sit as an MP in Parliament. Obviously she needed jewels. Kim Parker writes about her crowning glory: the Cartier tiara

“Aspirited personality, she loved finery. Her title, her career as a politician, her role as Mayoress of Plymouth gave her innumerable occasions on which to wear the very finest clothes and jewellery and she enjoyed it.” So writes the noted jewellery historian Geoffrey Munn about Nancy, Viscountess Astor, in his seminal book ‘Tiaras: A History of Splendour.’ 60 years after the death of this complex, valiant, difficult and extraordinary jewellery-lover, one of her prized Cartier tiaras will appear at auction for the very first time, at Bonhams’ London Jewels sale on 5 June.

The woman who became ‘the first lady of British politics’ was born Nancy Witcher Langhorn in the American state of Virginia in 1879. Following an unhappy marriage and subsequent divorce from the Bostonian socialite Robert Gould Shaw, Nancy moved to England – a place that she had previously enjoyed visiting – with her younger sister Phyllis in 1905. Whip-smart and glamorous, with a conveniently wealthy background (after her birth, her father’s once-struggling construction company had turned into an enormously lucrative venture) Nancy’s ascent into English aristocracy was rapid. Courted by several admirers, she turned her interests to Waldorf Astor, the owner of The Observer newspaper and son of the eccentric millionaire businessman, William Waldorf Astor, who had renounced his American citizenship and become a British subject in 1899. The pair married in May 1906 and, as a wedding gift, William Waldorf Astor presented his son and new daughter-in-law with Cliveden, a palatial 19^th-century house and estate in the Buckinghamshire countryside.

When his father died in 1919, Waldorf Astor inherited his peerage and became the 2^nd Viscount Astor. Now a member of the House of Lords, he was required to forfeit his seat in the House of Commons – a role which was taken up by his wife, his ‘comrade-in-arms’ in the constituency of Plymouth. A few days after winning a by-election on 28 November 1919, Nancy Astor was sworn in as a member of Parliament – the first woman in history to take her seat in the House of Commons (though not the first to be elected. That honour was given to Constance Markievicz, an Irish politician and socialist who, being in Holloway Prison during her election, was unable to take up her seat).

“A spirited personality, she loved finery. Her title, her career as a politician, her role as Mayoress of Plymouth gave her innumerable occasions on which to wear the very finest clothes and jewellery and she enjoyed it.”

Throughout her 26-year political career, Nancy Astor was renowned for her rapacious wit and outspoken views. She used her maiden speech to address her peers on the contentious topic of drink restriction, with a particular emphasis on alcohol’s impact on women and children in the community, and was a passionate supporter of welfare reforms, progressive educational policies and women’s rights issues. “I really felt, and this is important, women had died for the vote…and I realised that I was there [Parliament] because of what they’d done,” she told the BBC’s Panorama programme in 1959. “That gave me great courage and a great feeling of dedication to the women’s cause.” Winston Churchill, it is said, had a particularly contentious relationship with the Viscountess, with ferociously barbed exchanges on both sides. On hearing Churchill complain that having a woman in Parliament was like having one intrude on him in the bathroom, Astor famously retorted, ‘Sir, you’re not handsome enough to have such fears.’

While intelligence and humour made Nancy Astor a strident politician, they also ensured she was a brilliant society hostess, and she hosted lavish parties and receptions for her elite circle at both Cliveden House and at her London home in St. James’ Square. “She was a celebrated and influential woman, and as such, she cultivated an impressive collection of jewels which she would have had to wear for every formal and social event on her calendar,” says Jean Ghika, Bonhams Global Head of Jewellery. Indeed, in her 1975 memoir about her life in service, Lady Astor’s longtime maid, Rosina Harrison, recalled that the Viscountess “loved wearing it [jewellery] and she often used too much for my taste. She’d turn round to me and say, ‘How do I look, Rose?’ and I’d reply, ‘Haven’t you forgotten the kitchen stove, my lady?’ earning myself the customary, ‘Shut up, Rose!’”

“I really felt, and this is important, women had died for the vote…and I realised that I was there [Parliament] because of what they’d done,” she told the BBC’s Panorama programme in 1959. “That gave me great courage and a great feeling of dedication to the women’s cause.”

Amongst the most “special pieces of jewellery” in Astor’s collection were her five tiaras, which included a spectacular diadem set with the legendary 55.23-carat Sancy diamond. The late 19^th and early 20^th centuries saw a huge rise in the demand for precious jewellery, a result of the Industrial Revolution and enormous economic expansion, with elegant head jewels becoming “a favourite of high-ranking women…worn at the sacraments of coronation, marriage and occasionally even baptism,” notes Geoffrey Munn. Added to this, the growth of international travel and an increasingly theatrical and opulent social scene ensured that dazzling headdresses became a must for any well-heeled member of society – a sparkling symbol of your status, elegance and, if sourced from a fashionable jeweller, your impeccable taste.

Dating from around 1929, Viscountess Astor’s extraordinary turquoise tiara came from Cartier London – the British branch of the Parisian jeweller which, at the time, was at the height of its creative powers and the preferred jeweller of the smart set. Dubbed ‘the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers’ by Edward VII, Cartier had been granted a royal warrant in 1904 and created 19 of the diadems worn at the coronation of King George V in 1911. From there, its fortunes had only increased.

“Throughout her 26-year political career, Nancy Astor was renowned for her rapacious wit and outspoken views.” 

“The Art Deco period was an era of enormous innovation at Cartier, which took inspiration from all over the world, including stylistic elements from Persia, Egypt, India and East Asia, and fused them with futuristic silhouettes drawn from architecture to create bold new designs,” says Jean Ghika. Having originally purchased its diamond bandeau from Boucheron, Cartier’s London atelier, English Art Works, added the tiara’s Eastern-inspired turquoise plumes and radiating fan-shaped terminal scrolls in 1929, and the completed piece was sold to Lord Astor in December 1930. Lady Astor was presumably pleased with her gift – in February 1931, she was photographed wearing it to the première of Charlie Chaplin’s latest film, City Lights, at London’s Dominion Theatre. “The colour of the piece is particularly striking,” notes Ghika. “There is precedent in 19^th century jewellery of the use of turquoise in diamond jewellery, so it’s not a new combination, but what is really interesting is the use of the stone in this headpiece. These aren’t small cabochons, engulfed in diamonds. The turquoise here is the main player, an eye-catching design element that speaks to Cartier’s creativity, which was absolutely cutting-edge.”

Viscountess Astor’s turquoise tiara was so arresting, in fact, that her younger sister, Phyllis, later borrowed it to wear at a court presentation. This prompted her husband, the Hon. Robert Brand, to commission Cartier to make a similar turquoise bandeau for her in 1935, “probably for the Silver Jubilee of King George V,” surmises Geoffrey Munn, which took place in the May of that year. This ‘sister tiara’ is currently on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum. With its intricately carved plumes and principal old brilliant-cut diamond, however, the design of Nancy’s Astor’s tiara is unique, which only serves to make this rare jewel an even more enticing lot in the forthcoming London Jewels Sale. “The tiara hasn’t been seen on the market since Lord Astor purchased it from Cartier in 1930, making this a once-in-a-lifetime event,” says Jean Ghika. “Being able to tell such an interesting story with a single jewel is such a rarity. We have documents for it, we know its history and when know when it was purchased to the exact month. This piece represents both a remarkable woman who was a pioneer in her career and the trailblazing design of a jewellery house at the absolute zenith of its powers. That’s what makes it so extraordinary.”

Kim Parker is a jewellery and watch journalist based in London

London Jewels | New Bond Street | 5 June 2025

For enquiries, contact Jean Ghika on jean.ghika@bonhams.com or +44 20 7468 8282