Nelson’s Lost Jewel: The Extraordinary Story of the Lost Diamond Chelengk

The first book to tell the remarkable story of one of Britain’s most famous jewels. Following Nelson’s triumph at the Battle of the Nile, he was presented with an extraordinary diamond jewel by the Sultan of Turkey. The chelengk was the Ottomans’ highest reward for gallantry and Nelson the first non-Muslim recipient. He adopted it in his coat of arms and theatrically wore the chelengk on his hat in imitation of its traditional display on a turban. It became his most precious possession. Breathlessly discussed in the gossip press and depicted in portraits and caricatures, it provoked both ridicule and awe in eighteenth-century England. Nelson’s Lost Jewel tells the remarkable story of one of the most famous jewels in British history for the first time, and traces its journey from Constantinople to London. The story of the chelengk does not end with Trafalgar. Its eventful descent in Nelson’s family ended with its sale by auction in 1895. Secured for the nation by public appeal, it passed to the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich from where it was sensationally stolen in 1951, never to be seen again. The author turns detective in the hope of finally tracking it down. AUTHOR: Martyn Downer is a jewellery historian, whose career began in the London auction houses before he became a director at Sotheby’s. Today, he is the leading specialist in the identification of artefacts relating to Nelson and the Royal Navy. He has handled the sales of the most valuable artworks belonging to Nelson, including his pocket watch, which sold for GBP1.2 million.