Nelson’s Lost Jewel
“The only way to describe working with Martin Walsh as a film-maker and editor is – seamless! (Pun intended.) Everything just falls into place, with great skill and creativity. Two discerning clients – a jewelry expert and much-praised author on Nelson, and an art expert well-known from the BBC’s ‘Fake or Fortune’ – were delighted with Martin’s work; more follows soon. And… when you work with Martin you get all the facilities you need, a great family atmosphere, and the best cheese toasties on the South Coast!”
Rob White, Maritime Films UK.
Nelson's Lost Jewel in conjunction with Maritime Films
Edited by Digitize films - the story of one of the most famous pieces of jewelry in the world, Nelson's...
Digitize Films worked along side Maritime Films UK to make two films – one for the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth entitled ‘Nelson’s Lost Jewel’ (played on a screen in the prestigious Nelson’s room – opposite HMS Victory).
Admiral Lord Nelson’s diamond Chelengk is one of the most famous and iconic jewels in British history. Presented to Nelson by the Sultan Selim III of Turkey after the Battle of the Nile in 1798. A central diamond star on the jewel was powered by clockwork to rotate in wear. Nelson wore the Chelengk on his hat like a turban jewel. After Trafalgar, the Chelengk was inherited by Nelson’s family and worn at the Court of Queen Victoria. Sold at auction in 1895 it eventually found its way to the newly opened National Maritime Museum in Greenwich where it was a star exhibit. In 1951 the jewel was stolen in a daring raid by an infamous cat-burglar and lost forever. For the first time, Martyn Downer tells the extraordinary true story of the Chelengk: from its gift to Nelson by the Sultan of Turkey to its tragic post-war theft, charting the jewel’s journey through history and forging sparkling new and intimate portraits of Nelson, of his friends and rivals, and of the woman he loved.