The remarkable story of Admiral Lord Nelson’s most precious jewel which vanished from a museum 66 years ago has been revealed in a new book.
Nelson was gifted the stunning seven-inch chelengk by Sultan Selim III of Turkey after the Battle of the Nile in 1798.
The hat decoration contained over 300 diamonds and a central diamond Ottoman star which was powered by clockwork to rotate and sparkle in candlelight.
Nelson was the first non-Muslim recipient of the chelengk and wore it on his hat like a turban jewel, sparking a fashion craze for similar jewels in England.
Lord Nelson (left) was gifted the stunning seven-inch chelengk (replica shown right) by Sultan Selim III of Turkey after the Battle of the Nile in 1798
London jeweller Philip Denyer has used 350 18th century diamonds to make an exact replica of the chelengk to coincede with the book launch of Nelson’s Lost Chelengk
It remained in his family for generations before it was sold in 1895 for £710 to ease the family’s financial difficulties.
The chelengk was then bought for £1,500 by the Society for Nautical Research in 1929 following a national appeal and placed in London’s National Maritime Museum.
But it was stolen in 1951 by career criminal George Chatham, who sold the jewel for a ‘few thousand’ to a criminal gang who he believes broke it up into little pieces.
The fascinating history of the jewel has been researched by historian and jewel expert Martyn Downer for his new book Nelson’s Lost Chelengk.
To coincide with the book launch, London jeweller Philip Denyer has used 350 18th century diamonds to make an exact replica of the chelengk.
The jewel, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, is on display in the Victory Gallery at Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard alongside a black felt cocked hat.
The jewel was stolen from the National Maritime Musuem in 1951 by career criminal George Chatham, who sold the jewel for a ‘few thousand’ to a criminal gang
For the replica (left), a goldsmith copied a newly discovered drawing (right) of the chelengk which had been hidden away in the library at the College of Arms in London
The goldsmith copied a newly discovered drawing of the chelengk which had been hidden away in the library at the College of Arms in London.
The drawing was commissioned by Nelson’s niece Charlotte who inherited the chelengk after his death.
She asked Thomas King, a Norfolk-born officer at the College of Arms, to paint it alongside Nelson’s other orders and decorations for a planned history of Great Yarmouth.
His watercolour is the most accurate record of the chelengk as it appeared during Nelson’s lifetime, showing in unprecedented detail the delicate white enamelling on the petals of the flowers and a single ruby radiating from the jewel.
By the time the chelengk passed into the hands of the National Maritime Museum in 1929, its enamelled flowering and clockwork mechanism had been removed.
Martyn Downer, 51, said: ‘Nelson knew it was an extraordinary jewel and asked for permission from the king to wear it on his hat as part of his official uniform.
‘I visited the College of Arms last year and by pure serendipity King’s fabulous drawing of the chelengk was unearthed in an album in the library.
‘The level of detail in the drawing has enabled the jeweller to make an exact replica of the chelengk using 350 18th century diamonds which have been salvaged from jewels of that era.
‘The enamelling has been done in the same colour and every detail I’ve researched has been included in the jewel.
‘It is an extraordinary object which is worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.’
During the heist, Chatham smashed the plate glass of the display case containing the Nelson relics and left a crowbar in the shards of broken glass.
Only the chelengk, the most precious object in the display, was missing.
Nothing else had been touched and the jewel’s fitted case had been left behind.
Two ladders were discovered in an annex next to the gallery which had been used by Chatham to reach a window which he forced open.
A watch was immediately placed at ports and airports as there was speculation the chelengk had been stolen by an antiques gang to flog on the Continent or in America.
The replica jewel, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, is on display in the Victory Gallery at Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard alongside a black felt cocked hat
The jeweller used 350 diamonds (pictured when removed from the ornament) to recreate the famous gem
Within hours, a reward of £250 was offered for information leading to the recovery of the jewel, but no one was arrested for the theft.
However, in 1994 Chatham confessed to the crime during a TV interview.
He said he sold the chelengk for a ‘few thousand’ before the jewel was broken up into little pieces.
Chatham had previous as in 1948 he stole two glittering diamond-encrusted swords in an exhibition of Wellington relics at the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington, west London.
Mr Dormer, 51, of Cambridge, said: ‘It seems remarkable now that a burglar who preyed on Mayfair’s mansions was able to take it with such apparent ease.
‘It certainly caused an enormous stink that such a special object had been left unguarded.
‘Chatham appeared on TV and admitted he stole it and sold it for a ‘few thousand’.’
- Nelson’s Lost Jewel: The Extraordinary Story of the Lost Diamond Chelengk, by Martyn Downer, is published by The History Press and coasts £20.