This was one of the most anticipated auctions of the fall season. Sotheby’s so-called Royal & Noble Jewels, which celebrated its third edition this Wednesday, November 12, has already become a hallowed event for luxury collecting, with people flocking to the city of Geneva every year to bid on the most historically interesting jewels, owned for centuries by aristocrats and royal families across Europe, often sitting in private collections that have been sold. After purchasing a rare and historic 300-carat diamond necklace from the 18th century for $4.8 million in 2024, Sotheby’s has another sweet treat in store this 2025. It was Napoleon Bonaparte’s brooch. The jewel was sold at auction for 3.8 million euros.
The piece, which was sold for between 130,000 and 216,000 euros, was worn on special occasions in the bicorne cap of the French emperor, but was lost while on the run during the Battle of Waterloo. Already surrounded by British and Prussian troops, the wagons loaded with treasure were covered in mud near the battlefield. The 45 millimeter diameter circular brooch, with a large 13.04 carat oval diamond in the center, surrounded by almost 100 diamonds of different shapes and sizes arranged in two concentric rows, ultimately became the trophy of Prussian King Frederick William III. In any case, Napoleon would no longer need him on the island of St. Helena, where England sent him.
The intense auction, which lasted just under 10 minutes, included four phone bidders and another bidder. online At an auction house in the Swiss city, another seller competed for the so-called hat button, reaching 30 times the reserve price and reaching a final price of $4,380,534, or about 3.8 million euros. The new owner is a prominent international collector, but Sotheby’s has not named him publicly.
Another of Napoleon’s jewels up for auction was the 132.66-carat green beryl worn by the emperor during his coronation in 1804, which had a starting price of 34,000 to 51,000 euros, but was sold online by an American museum for an astonishing $1,041,044, more than 25 times the reserve price.
The other most exciting piece of jewelry at Sotheby’s auction was a pink diamond ring that belonged to Empress Catherine I of Russia and later became part of the personal collection of Fatma Neslisa, the last princess of the Ottoman Empire (who died in 2012 at the age of 91). Bidding reached 12 times the reserve price, resulting in a final price of $3,622,914 or €3,118,785.
The latest auction of royal and noble jewels, the only of its kind in the world, is Sotheby’s third consecutive auction and is known in the auction world as the “White Glove”, where everything is sold and at the end of the session auctioneers are given white gloves, a symbol of success, which is usually a symbol of success. This time, the house generated a total of $14,328,947, or €12,335,074, making it the highest price ever achieved at a Royal & Noble sale since it was named a permanent fixture on Sotheby’s annual sales calendar in 2023.
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