Editor’s Note
This article previews the upcoming Luxury Week auction in Geneva, highlighting the sale of jewelry valued at tens of millions of euros, including a historic brooch once owned by Napoleon and the highly anticipated ‘Mellon Blue’ diamond.
Jewelry estimated at tens of millions of euros and a brooch belonging to Napoleon will be offered at auction during Luxury Week in Geneva.
A highly anticipated sale will feature the “Mellon Blue,” a vivid blue diamond weighing 9.51 carats, described as having “exceptional purity,” and set on a ring. Auction house Christie’s estimates its value between $20 and $30 million.
A sale to follow at Sotheby’s on November 11 will feature a diamond brooch that belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte, recovered by the Prussian army on the plain of Waterloo. The jewel, estimated between €130,000 and €220,000, was part of the personal effects the emperor had to abandon during his flight from British and Prussian soldiers after the famous battle. The circular brooch, approximately 45 mm in diameter, features at its center a large 13.04-carat oval diamond, surrounded by nearly a hundred old mine-cut diamonds of various shapes and sizes, arranged in two concentric rows.
This unique piece was created for Napoleon around 1810, “probably to adorn his bicorne on special occasions,” according to the auction house. It was then presented, among other objects, to King Frederick William III of Prussia as a war trophy on June 21, 1815, just three days after the Battle of Waterloo.
He specified that this record is currently held by the Blue Moon of Josephine, sold for over $48 million in 2015, equating to $4.1 million per carat.
This stone, originally mounted as a pendant, belonged for decades to Rachel Lambert Mellon, better known as Bunny Mellon (1910-2014), an American horticulturist, philanthropist, and art collector, notably known for redesigning the White House Rose Garden in 1961 at the request of President John F. Kennedy.