It’s one of Queen Camilla’s favorite brooches: the glittering replica of a platinum and diamond stick insect, which she wears when she attends commemorative events, such as Remembrance Day and the service at Westminster Hall in honor of Queen Elizabeth II’s decease. . It was given to her by her father.
Jeweler Geoffrey Munn, part of the panel of experts on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, designed the brooch – one of a collection of gem-encrusted bugs – while director of Fabergé egg specialist Wartski, who has two Royal Warrants. Camilla’s beetle was a replica of his sons Alexander and Edward’s stick insect, named Sticky.
“Mrs. Parker Bowles had admired the glittering brooch of stick insects,” he writes in his autobiography A Touch of Gold. A few days later, her father, Major Bruce Shand, called to ask if he could provide anything to mark her engagement to the Prince of Wales. He agreed that the stick insect was a perfect choice and asked how it might be presented. I suggested, in the tradition of Fabergé, hiding it in an Easter egg from Charbonnel et Walker.
‘Once this was agreed, I took the brooch to the famous Bond Street chocolatier and, simply in confidence, handed it over to the counter to be collected in an egg the following week. At that moment, a terrible suspicion dawned on me: how on earth could I be sure that the finished egg would contain the jewel instead of a handful of champagne truffles? Mounting anxiety cost me a lot of sleep over the weekend, but it reached a fever the following Monday when I was shocked to discover that the Charbonnel et Walker shop on Bond Street had been rammed with hundreds of identical primrose yellow eggs, each tied with a matching silk bow. ‘Had I left the diamond brooch there in confidence, I was bound to retrieve it on nothing but good faith. To my relief, Mrs. Parker Bowles was surprised and delighted with the brooch that Easter morning.”
It’s one of Queen Camilla’s favorite brooches: the shimmering platinum and diamond replica of a stick insect, which she wears when she attends memorial events
In 21st century Britain, with its celebrity focus, it’s hard to imagine how Munn went from living on benefits to mingling in royal circles. But in 1972, at the age of 19, he got a job at Wartski and became a specialist in the work of renowned jewelers such as Fortunato Pio Castellani, Carlo Giuliano and Peter Carl Fabergé. He then presented jewels to Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret; Hollywood stars like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, as well as British actor Sir Alec Guinness, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and Sir Elton John, who lent him a tiara for a charity event, bought in a Los Angeles “some crap brides” store. . Wartski created the wedding rings for Charles, Camilla and Kate.
But Munn’s first contact with royalty was inauspicious: “One day I was so out of my depth that I almost drowned in my own embarrassment,” he writes. “Three men had entered the shop wanting to see the Fabergé collection. They were dark-haired and handsome, they wore cashmere coats and expensive shoes. The four of us went downstairs to the showroom and along the way I started the banter I had recently learned.
“Do you collect Faberge?” I asked. “Not really,” was the reply. “I inherited some pieces from my grandfather, and it’s the cigarette cases I like best.”
“Do you have animal carvings or flowers?” I have asked.
“No, but my father had a collection of them sold at Sotheby’s in the fifties.”
“Based on this, I thought it was time to identify the elegant and mysterious visitor: ‘May I ask your name, sir?’
Jeweler Geoffrey Munn (pictured), part of the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow panel of experts, designed Camilla’s stick insect brooch
Munn with Camilla and Fiona Bruce at Antiques Roadshow, 2022. In 1972, aged 19, he got a job at Wartski and became a specialist in the work of renowned jewelers
Princess Margaret in 1963, wearing a necklace by legendary jeweler Carlo Giuliano who became the cover star of Munn’s book Castellani & Giuliano
“Well yes, I am the king of Greece.”
“His answer knocked me for six and my dismay was complete.”
Munn, who lives in Southwold, Suffolk with his wife Caroline, first met Princess Margaret in 1980 when he was writing a book about Castellani and Giuliano, which was published in 1984. She had a collection of Giuliano jewelry, a favorite of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria.
“I took the bus to Kensington Palace in a suit with flared trousers, my hair fashionably long and an equally fashionable moustache,” he adds. “The trip gave me time to imagine what might happen next.
I had never visited Christopher Wren’s historic palace before and that, along with the jewels that would be laid out for me, would probably be exciting.
Pictured: The Princess of Wales’s wedding ring was made by Wartski. The couple got married in 2011
The prince showed me a collection of snuffboxes decorated with eroticism
“The princess was a truly artistic person with a great sense of curiosity about every aspect of life, especially music and art. Lucky for me, she wanted to know more about my question. Afraid not to prolong my welcome, I felt it was time to leave, but apparently it wasn’t: a small brown and white Jack Russell Terrier had rolled into the room. The princess threw a rubber ball across the polished wooden floor and I was invited to join in the fun chase. I think all this could put even the most optimistic observer into a state of rare excitement and I was certainly excited by my morning’s adventure. I left Kensington Palace as I had arrived – finishing the long drive on foot – and caught a passing bus. As number nine trudged towards the West End, I struggled to resist the urge to bellow at my fellow passengers, “I bet you can’t guess where I’ve been?” But even in their wildest fantasies, I knew they never could.”
Pictured: The Fabergé egg clock that Prince Rainier III lent to Munn for a charity exhibition
More than a decade later, in 1992, Munn was invited to Monaco to meet Prince Rainier III. He organized a charity exhibition for the Samaritans and the Prince had agreed to lend him the Fabergé snake egg clock which Wartski had sold for £64,103 to Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos in 1972, and which was then given to Prince Rainier to mark his silver medal . anniversary.
“The prince gave me a tour of the palace, accompanied by his favorite dog, a long-haired dog named Odin,” Munn writes. “As the owner of a sniffing black pug, I asked, ‘Does he snore, Your Highness?’ “Yes,” came the reply, “and it’s hell to pay if he goes to sleep before me.”
‘The prince showed me a collection of silver and gold watches and snuff boxes decorated with eroticism, which were kept in an antechamber. Some of these were automatic, and at the touch of a button they creaked into jerky coitus, only interrupted when the clockwork mechanism unwound and jerked to a satisfying halt.’
Geoffrey Munn’s autobiography, A Touch of Gold, is published by ACC Art Books, £25*
* TO ORDER A COPY FOR £21.25 UNTIL 3 SEPTEMBER, VISIT MAILSHOP.CO.UK/BOOKS OR CALL 020 3176 2937. FREE DELIVERY ON ORDERS OVER £25.