GENEVA (AP) — A diamond brooch that French emperor Napoleon lost while fleeing from the Battle of Waterloo in the early 19th century sold for more than 3.5 million Swiss francs (about $4.4 million) at a Geneva auction on Wednesday, Sotheby's said.
The brooch, which can also be worn as a pendant, features an oval diamond weighing over 13 carats surrounded by smaller cut diamonds. The sale price vastly outstripped the high end of the pre-sale estimate of 200,000 francs.
The hammer price was 2.85 million francs, excluding fees and other charges that were included in the final aggregate price.
The circular jewel was found in a stash of Napoleon's personal belongings in carriages that got held up on muddy roads as he and his troops fled the Duke of Wellington's British forces and the Prussian army under Field Marshal von Blücher, Sotheby's said.
For more than two centuries, the jewels featured as part of heirlooms of the Prussian Royal House of Hohenzollern. Sotheby's did not disclose the identity of the seller, and said that the buyer was a “private collector.”
Among dozens of lots on the block was a green beryl weighing over 132 carats, which Napoleon was said to have worn at his 1804 coronation. The jewel sold for a hammer price of 838,000 francs, or more than 17 times the high-end pre-sale estimate.
One diamond expert said the sale took on added allure in the wake of the much-ballyhooed robbery of Napoleonic jewels from the Louvre museum in Paris last month.
“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," said Tobias Kormind, managing director of online jeweler 77 Diamonds. “The brooch arrives at a moment of renewed global fascination with Napoleonic jewels, and its story is irresistible.”
Sotheby's also held a “high jewelry” auction on Wednesday, but before the start announced that the standout item — a 10-carat pink diamond tentatively known as the “Glowing Rose” — had been withdrawn.
The auction house said later that the lot had been withdrawn “following discussions with the consignor,” or owner, without elaborating. The gem had been expected to fetch about $20 million. Its owner was not identified.
