A diamond brooch once lost by Napoleon during his retreat from the Battle of Waterloo has fetched an astonishing $4.4 million at a Geneva auction, Sotheby’s announced.
The exquisite piece, which can be worn as a brooch or pendant, features a 13-carat oval diamond encircled by smaller cut diamonds. The final sale price dramatically exceeded pre-auction estimates of 200,000 Swiss francs. The hammer price alone was 2.85 million francs, with additional fees bringing the total to 3.5 million francs.
This historic jewel was discovered among Napoleon’s personal belongings in carriages that were delayed on muddy roads as he fled British forces led by the Duke of Wellington and Prussian troops under Field Marshal von Blücher. For over 200 years, it had remained part of the Prussian Royal House of Hohenzollern’s heirlooms. Sotheby’s confirmed the buyer was a private collector, while the seller’s identity remains undisclosed.
Other notable lots included a 132-carat green beryl, believed to have been worn by Napoleon at his 1804 coronation, which sold for 838,000 francs—17 times its pre-sale estimate.
said, “TheExperts say the brooch’s sale gained extra attention following last month’s high-profile robbery of Napoleonic jewels from the Louvre in Paris. Tobias Kormind, managing director of online jeweler 77 Diamonds, said: “The brooch’s history, combined with renewed global fascination with Napoleonic jewels, makes this sale entirely unsurprising.”
Sotheby’s also hosted a “high jewelry” auction the same day, though a 10-carat pink diamond known as the “Glowing Rose” was withdrawn after discussions with its owner. The gem had been expected to reach around $20 million.
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