Diamond And Gold Roosevelt Compact Up For Auction

Published on 27/05/08

A diamond and gold compact given to Eleanor Roosevelt by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the former president of the US, is to be auctioned next month.

Predicted to be sold for between $4,000 (£2,000) and $6,000, the compact features an engraved message from the president to his wife and is made from 18-carat gold, reports the Associated Press.

FDR proposed to Ms Roosevelt in 1904, before presenting her with a gold diamond ring.

The president is famous for his New Deal portfolio of social and economic policies, designed to lift America out of the Great Depression.

Meanwhile, his wife was the chair of the committee that drafted and approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The compact is being auctioned together with other items from the private collection of Joseph and Deborah Plaud, from Massachusetts.

Other items going under the hammer include a Tiffany wristwatch, worn by president Roosevelt at the Yalta Conference.