Editor’s Note
A piece of European history has found a new home. This article details the remarkable auction of a Napoleonic brooch, a relic recovered from the battlefield of Waterloo, which fetched a staggering and record-breaking sum far beyond all estimates.
A diamond-encrusted brooch that belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte and was recovered by the Prussian army at Waterloo was sold on Wednesday for a record price of 3.79 million euros in Geneva, auction house Sotheby’s announced. The sale price of this historic jewel, one of the highlights of this week’s luxury sales on the shores of Lake Geneva, far exceeded Sotheby’s expectations, which had estimated it between 130,000 and 220,000 euros.
The brooch was part of the personal effects the emperor had to abandon during his flight on the plain of Waterloo (near Brussels, in present-day Belgium) from British and Prussian soldiers following the famous battle that sealed his downfall. The circular jewel, 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.
the auction house specified. It was later given, 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.
The week was also marked by traditional sales of prestigious watches, such as the Rolex Oyster, one of the first waterproof wristwatches worn by endurance swimmer Mercedes Gleitze (1900-1981), the first British woman to swim across the English Channel. Estimated at over 1.1 million euros, it was sold for 1.46 million euros.
Another highlight of Sotheby’s sales, “The Glowing Rose” or “Rose éclatante,” a vivid 10.08-carat pink diamond estimated at around 20 million dollars, was ultimately withdrawn from the sales on Wednesday evening. Contacted by AFP, Sotheby’s was not immediately available to provide explanations for this withdrawal.
