Elmwood’s to Offer Pendant Bearing Tsar Alexander I’s Monogram

By Annie Davidson Watson | October 23, 2026

Elmwood’s will auction a circa-1810 pendant carrying the monogram of Tsar Alexander I, the ruler who helped lead the coalition against Napoleon. It is part of the house’s “Faberge, Fine Jewellery & Watches” fine jewelry sale on Oct. 28, with an estimate of £6,000 to £8,000 ($8,000–$10,700).

The antique oval jewel is mounted in yellow gold and silver and finished in blue guilloché enamel. A crowned initial A, set with rose-cut diamonds, sits at the center, and old mine–cut and rose-cut stones along the edge.

Before it was a pendant, Elmwood’s believes, it was part of a presentation box. Royal gifts were a currency of favor in Alexander’s era, the house notes, particularly as European powers redrew the map at the Congress of Vienna.

Elmwood’s links the piece to Lt. Gen. Sir Robert Arbuthnot, an Irish-born officer (1773–1853) who fought through the Peninsular War alongside Gen. Sir William Beresford, first as aide-de-camp and then as military secretary. His battles included Corunna, Albuera, and Toulouse. At Albuera in 1811, the house credits him with halting a case of mistaken fire between British and Spanish units.

Arbuthnot received a Bath knighthood in 1815, took charge of British forces in Ceylon in 1838, and died in London. The jewel is said to have stayed with his descendants until the present owner.

The release cites no documentation connecting the pendant to him, so the attribution rests on Elmwood’s inference. The house also considers the enamel and diamond styling consistent with Russian court work of the period.

In a statement, Joe Kendrick, head of sale at Elmwood’s, described it as a “striking example of antique jewelry, while its direct descent through the same family adds another layer of interest for collectors.”

Top: Photo courtesy Elmwood’s Auction House

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