A remarkable collection of diamonds worth tens of millions of dollars is set to go under the hammer in Geneva next week, featuring a historic brooch once owned by Napoleon Bonaparte.
The diamond-studded brooch, estimated between $150,000 and $250,000, is expected to be the highlight of Sotheby’s annual Royal & Noble Jewels sale on November 12.
The precious piece was among several personal items Napoleon carried with him to Waterloo in 1815. However, as his army was crushed by the combined British and Prussian forces, the French emperor hastily abandoned some of his carriages—including one containing his valuables—when they became stuck in the mud just miles from the battlefield.
Measuring about 45 millimetres in diameter, the circular brooch features a 13.04-carat oval diamond at its centre, surrounded by nearly one hundred smaller old mine-cut diamonds of varying shapes and sizes.
Crafted for Napoleon around 1810, the brooch was later presented, along with other captured treasures, to Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III as war trophies on June 21, 1815, three days after the Battle of Waterloo.
Also up for auction at Sotheby’s is a dazzling 10.08-carat vivid pink diamond called “The Glowing Rose,” expected to fetch around $20 million. The gemstone is celebrated for its “extremely rare” pure pink hue and “exceptional quality,” according to Sotheby’s.
Meanwhile, Christie’s will host its own prestigious sale a day earlier, featuring a 9.51-carat vivid blue diamond known as “The Mellon Blue.” Estimated to bring in up to $30 million, the stone once belonged to Rachel Lambert Mellon, the American philanthropist, art collector, and horticulturalist affectionately known as Bunny Mellon.
The diamond was last publicly seen in 2014, when it sold at auction in New York for more than $32 million following Mellon’s death.
According to Tobias Kormind, head of Europe’s largest online diamond jeweller, 77 Diamonds, “The Mellon Blue could well smash the world record for price per carat for any blue diamond at auction.”
That record, he noted, is currently held by the Blue Moon of Josephine, which sold for over $48 million in 2015—equating to $4.1 million per carat.
What You Should Know
Napoleon Bonaparte’s lost brooch represents a tangible piece of history from his final defeat at Waterloo.
Now a symbol of both artistry and legacy, the jewel resurfaces in Geneva alongside two of the world’s rarest diamonds—“The Glowing Rose” and “The Mellon Blue”—showcasing the enduring allure of royal treasures and record-breaking gems.
