A diamond brooch that French emperor Napoleon misplaced whereas fleeing from the Battle of Waterloo within the early nineteenth century bought for greater than 3.5 million Swiss francs — about $4.4 million — at a Geneva public sale on Wednesday, Sotheby’s mentioned.
The brooch, which may also be worn as a pendant, options an oval diamond weighing over 13 carats, surrounded by smaller reduce diamonds.
“In his haste to flee Waterloo, where his armies had been overwhelmed by the combined forces of the British and Prussian armies, Napoleon had to abandon some of his carriages when they got stuck in a muddy road a few miles away from the battlefield — including the carriage containing those precious belongings,” it mentioned.
An previous mine-cut diamond brooch or pendant that was owned by Emperor Napoleon I circa 1810 is displayed as Sotheby’s unveiled a number of gadgets on Nov. 6, 2025, in Geneva, Switzerland.
Robert Hradil
The sale value vastly outstripped the excessive finish of the pre-sale estimate of 200,000 francs. The hammer value was 2.85 million francs, excluding charges and different expenses that have been included within the last mixture value.
Sotheby’s didn’t disclose the identification of the vendor, and mentioned that the client was a “private collector.”
The brooch and some different gadgets have been provided to the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III as battle trophies in 1815 three days after the Battle of Waterloo, in keeping with Sotheby’s. It remained amongst heirlooms of the Prussian Royal Home of Hohenzollern for hundreds of years and over the previous few years was a part of a distinct personal assortment.
Amongst dozens of tons on the public sale block was a inexperienced beryl weighing over 132 carats, which Napoleon was mentioned to have worn at his 1804 coronation. The jewel bought for a hammer value of 838,000 francs, or greater than 17 occasions the high-end pre-sale estimate.
One diamond knowledgeable mentioned the sale took on added attract within the wake of the theft of Napoleonic jewels from the Louvre museum in Paris final month. The thieves made off with eight items in broad daylight and dropped one as they made their escape.
“Given the recent Louvre heist and the provenance of arguably the most famous French figure in history, I’m not surprised the jewel achieved a majestic 3.5 million francs,” mentioned Tobias Kormind, managing director of on-line jeweler 77 Diamonds. “The brooch arrives at a moment of renewed global fascination with Napoleonic jewels, and its story is irresistible.”
Extra from CBS Information
