£6,500 a fling for philandering fat cat

Robert and Elizabeth Charlton lived a charmed life. The millionaire Leicester businessman regularly lavished his wife with expensive jewellery, but far from being tokens of his affection, the diamond gifts were tokens of his guilt.

Until his death in 1974, Mr. Charlton would present his wife with an item of expensive jewellery each time he indulged in a fling with another woman – and over their 26 years of marriage, this became an expensive habit.

The millionaire is thought to have started out with relatively inexpensive gifts, and upped the ante each time he submitted to temptation. The most expensive trinket in the collection was a necklace made up of 54 diamonds, which sold at auction for £50,000.

Mrs. Charlton’s daughter, who was 11 when the pair married, decided to put the items up for sale after the death of her mother in 2006. The sale revealed over 40 pieces in the collection, raising nearly £286,000 and putting the average cost per dalliance in today’s money at a wallet stinging £6,500.

But while the guilty offerings may have proved expensive, they were successful in keeping the marriage alive as Mr. Charlton’s cheating ways were no secret inside or outside the family home.

Clare Durham, of the auctioneers Woolley and Wallis of Salisbury, said:

“It is a beautiful collection of fine diamond jewellery. There were 43 items in total and most of it dates back to the late Victorian and early Edwardian period.”

“Any time Mr Charlton was naughty and played away he bought his wife a nice bit of jewellery to keep her sweet. She was well aware of what was going on and he cheated on her a lot.”

“It may even have been more than 43 times, because the family have kept some of the pieces.”

“His daughter was fully aware of what was going on at the time and the family have told us the story. It was no secret to anyone.”

Would £6,500 be enough to quell your emotions in the face of infidelity? Have your say.