On November 12, auctioneers at Sotheby’s in Geneva will offer four lots featuring particularly important historical royal jewels. I discussed two of them, both from the collection of Napoleon Bonaparte, today at Hidden Gems. As a bonus, here’s a look at all four of the lots, including royal and noble jewels with French, German, Italian, Turkish, and Egyptian roots.
You Too Can Own Napoleon’s Diamonds: A Relic of Waterloo Goes on Sale at Sotheby’s
[Hidden Gems Exclusive]
When Napoleon fled from the battlefield at Waterloo, he left behind a treasure trove of diamond jewels. Now, some of those diamonds are being sold in Switzerland. Ahead of the auction, I’ve got a closer look at the dazzling diamonds in an article at Hidden Gems that includes a speed-run through the Battle of Waterloo and a dive into the history of the Hohenzollerns.
A Historical and Important Unmounted Green Beryl
Formerly in the collection of the House of Hohenzollern, this green gemstone is said, per family tradition, to have been worn by Napoleon Bonaparte at his imperial coronation in 1804. Afterward, it spent centuries in the collection of the royal family that ruled Germany in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
A Historically Important and Highly Significant Diamond Brooch/Pendant
When Napoleon fled the battlefield at Waterloo, Prussian officers fished this diamond hat ornament out of one of his carriages and brought it to King Friedrich Wilhelm III as a souvenir. Now, after centuries with the Hohenzollerns, a private collector is selling the jewel at Sotheby’s in Geneva. (Much more on this story today at Hidden Gems!)
A Magnificent and Historical Light Pink Diamond and Diamond Ring
This magnificent ring belonged to Princess Neslishah Sultan, a granddaughter of the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. She received the ring, which was part of a larger parure, when she married Prince Muhammad Abdul Moneim, son of Khedive Abbas II of Egypt, in 1940. The colored diamonds in the set had astonishing history: they were given by Catherine the Great to one of Neslishah’s ancestors, Sultan Ahmed III, in 1711. Neslishah was forced to sell much of the parure after the couple was exiled in the 1950s, but she retained the ring. Now, her descendants have decided to sell the jewel.
A Rare and Historically Important Natural Pearl and Diamond Jewel and a Brooch
The pearls in this nineteenth-century garland belonged to Kunigunde of Saxony, granddaughter of King Augustus III of Poland and first cousin of Kings Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X of France. Kunigunde’s pearl wedding tiara was remodeled around 1840 by her descendants, Italian aristocrats who held prominent positions at the Vatican. During two of Queen Elizabeth II’s visits to Italy and the Vatican, in 1951 and 1980, Princess Sofia Odescalchi, wife of Kunigunde’s great-great-grandson, wore the garland for royal balls, and the Queen reportedly expressed admiration of the jewel on both occasions. Now, the Patrizi Montoro family is selling the piece.
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