Eight items belonging to France’s Crown Jewels were stolen, with an estimated value of $156 million. Meanwhile, preparations have been made for the sale of another piece of jewellery belonging to Napoleon, a diamond brooch, that will headline Sotheby’s Royal & Noble Jewels auction in Geneva on 12 November.
The circular brooch featured a 13-carat oval diamond surrounded by approximately 100 old-mine and mazarin-cut diamonds. It was created around 1810 and was discovered by Prussian forces after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
The diamond brooch was later presented to King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia as a trophy, and remained in the Hohenzollern Royal Collection before passing into private ownership. Sotheby’s chairman Andres White Correal said the auction would be a momentous occasion.
“It is a huge privilege to be able to bring to auction such wondrous pieces of jewellery boasting prestigious provenance year after year in Geneva,” he said.
“Our Royal & Noble sale continues to be unparalleled in the auction world and continues to set the standard. The presentation, in the same sale, of items of jewellery previously owned by Emperor Napoleon I and Empress Catherine I via one of the greatest Ottoman princesses, to name only two stunning examples, demonstrates our ongoing quest to offer discerning collectors the absolute best.”
The Sotheby’s event will be the first time this diamond brooch has been publicly available, and it will enter the auction with a presale estimate of $USD150,000 ($AUD229,000). Online bidding for the Royal & Noble Jewels auction is now open.
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