DLI Sweetheart badge - gold and diamond

[mooke07]

Hi all,

Latest addition to my DLI collection. A gold and diamond set sweetheart bar for the DLI King's Crown. It has the DLI letters filled with small diamonds and the crown is with a red enamel - and there are red and black enamel or fragments of gemstones on the base of the crown. It is set in yellow gold and attached to a bar for wear as the most common type of the WW1-WW2 sweetheart badges were ('Military Sweethearts' by Pamela M. Caunt). 18mm bar DLI bugle 8x8mm.

It is sadly not maker marked but the craftsmanship is exquisite in the detail and the quality of the setting of the diamonds as can be seen in the rear view.

A quality jewellers piece.

Regards Dean.

[Drummajor]

A beautiful badge indeed, thank you for sharing it.
Phil.

[mooke07]

Thanks Phil - always good having something of quality to share, cheers Dean.

[badger123]

Dean,

A very nice piece. A thought has occurred that something of this quality (and no doubt expense when it was originally bought) must have been purchased by or for someone quite important.

My thinking is based on a recent Yorkshire Regt sweetheart badge that was made of gold with diamonds and rubies for, I believe, the Duke of York.

Ivan

[mooke07]

Thanks for the thoughts here Ivan,

It would indeed have been an expensive piece. Pamela Caunt's book has a number of more modern sweetheart badges with gold, diamonds and enamels made by Carrington's of London and these are priced between 300 and 2,000 pounds.

A friend showed me his grandfather's WW2 gold RAMC sweetheart badge that was set with diamonds and that was unmarked. He bought it out of his returning from the war pay and had been an Officer and was a very significant sum.

It is certainly not out if the question it was for a senior officer of some means and/or means.

Cheers Dean.