PRESS RELEASE: Noonans To Sell The Jewellery Collection of The Late Lady Wardington

The 1950s model turned down by the BBC for being too beautiful

The Collection of the late Lady Wardington (1927-2014) will be offered in an auction of Jewellery, Watches, Silver and Objects of vertu at Noonans Mayfair (16 Bolton Street) on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. They are being sold by her direct descendants.

Margaret Audrey White was born in Bradford in 1927, the only child of a travelling salesman, and was brought up in North London by her mother. Upon leaving school at 16 she was employed at the Elizabeth Arden cosmetics salon on Bond Street, and it was here that she was spotted by Phyllis Digby Morton, editor of 

Woman and Beauty magazine, who invited her to become a model, and hence launching her high-profile modelling career.

In 1951 she applied to the BBC for a role as a stand-in television announcer but was turned down for being “too sophisticated and severely beautiful...” and in case she “alarmed timid men from Wigan and country districts”. One commentator put it, “Could you watch Miss White talking about depressions over Iceland and absorb what she was saying?”

After dazzling the BBC, but failing to win its executives over, the following year she became fashion editor of Housewife magazine. In 1964 Margaret married Christopher Henry Beaumont ‘Bic’ Pease, 2nd Lord Wardington, a partner at stockbrokers Hoare Govett and a noted bibliophile. Their family home was Wardington Manor near Banbury, Oxfordshire, where they raised three children. As Lady Wardington, she was to champion practical measures to help women gain financial independence.

As Frances Noble, Head of Jewellery Department at Noonans, explains: “The collection offered here for sale comprises a selection of Lady Wardington’s personal jewellery and accessories, most of which were purchased as gifts by her husband – evidenced by the jewellery cases signed by jewellers located in the City of London, close to his offices. This varied collection offers a snapshot of the jewels worn by one of Society's most glamorous and beautiful women of the mid 20th century.”

Highlights include a diamond and platinum geometric bracelet dating from circa 1950, it comes in a case by Searle & Co. Ltd, Jewellers & Silversmiths, 1 Royal Exchange, London, E.C.3 (Late of 79 Lombard Street). The bracelet has an estimate of £15,000-20,000 [lot 251]. A stylish mid 20th century gold and diamond-set evening purse in bi-colour ossierwork is expected to fetch £15,000-20,000 [lot 454], while a second similar gold evening purse is estimated at £10,000-15,000 [lot 453].

A pair of emerald and diamond ear pendants, each set with a Colombian pear-cut emerald within a surround of brilliant-cut diamonds is expected to fetch £8,000-12,000. These are presented in a fitted case signed ‘John Haynes & Co. Ltd, 23 Birchin Lane, London, E.C.3. [lot 261]. One of the most striking pieces from the collection is a gem-set cluster brooch / pendant. The pear-shaped cluster is set with various gemstones including cushion-shaped yellow and blue sapphires, emerald, aquamarine and ruby, with old brilliant-cut diamond highlights between. It has a guide of £4,000-6,000 [lot 256].

A diamond double clip brooch / earrings, circa 1950, of flowerhead and ribbon design, and set throughout with brilliant, single and baguette-cut diamonds, the two clips detaching to form earrings, is estimated at £4,000-6,000 [lot 258].

A fine Georgian gold and agate bracelet, composed of eight rectangular vari-coloured agate panels, each claw set, the baton-links between, carries an estimate of £3,000-5,000 [lot 269].

Noonans - A Brief History

In 1991, its first year of trading, the company held three medal auctions and sold 1,200 lots for a total hammer price of £553,000, however 35 years later, Noonans is established as the premier medal auctioneer worldwide. Two years later, in 1993, it opened a coin department which also auctions commemorative medals and tokens. In 2015 Noonans (then Dix Noonan Webb) added jewellery to its sales calendar as well as setting up a stand-alone banknotes department and

expanding into premises next door. In 2025 they achieved a total hammer price of £17,120,570 and the total number of lots offered across all departments was 29,271. To date the company has offered in excess of 520,000 lots totalling over £280 million.