Diamond brooch misplaced by Napoleon whereas fleeing Battle of Waterloo sells for $4.4 million

[ad_1] GENEVA (AP) — 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 can be worn as a pendant, options an oval diamond weighing over 13 carats surrounded by smaller reduce diamonds. 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 costs that have been included within the closing combination value.

The round jewel was present in a stash of Napoleon’s private belongings in carriages that bought held up on muddy roads as he and his troops fled the Duke of Wellington’s British forces and the Prussian military below Discipline Marshal von Blücher, Sotheby’s mentioned.

For greater than two centuries, the jewels featured as a part of heirlooms of the Prussian Royal Home of Hohenzollern. Sotheby’s didn't disclose the identification of the vendor, and mentioned that the client was a “non-public collector.”

Amongst dozens of tons on the 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 skilled mentioned the sale took on added attract within the wake of the much-ballyhooed robbery of Napoleonic jewels from the Louvre museum in Paris final month.

“Given the latest Louvre heist and the provenance of arguably essentially the most well-known French determine in historical past, I’m not stunned the jewel achieved an imposing 3.5 million francs,” mentioned Tobias Kormind, managing director of on-line jeweler 77 Diamonds. “The brooch arrives at a second of renewed world fascination with Napoleonic jewels, and its story is irresistible.”

Sotheby’s additionally held a “excessive jewellery” public sale on Wednesday, however earlier than the beginning introduced that the standout merchandise — a 10-carat pink diamond tentatively often known as the “Glowing Rose” — had been withdrawn.

The public sale home mentioned later that the lot had been withdrawn “following discussions with the consignor,” or proprietor, with out elaborating. The gem had been anticipated to fetch about $20 million. Its proprietor was not recognized.

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