This old mine cut diamond brooch owned by Emperor Napoleon I (c1810) sold for US $4.4 million at Sotheby’s Royal and Noble jewels sale in Geneva after a bidding battle that lasted nearly ten minutes. The estimate was $150,000-$250,000. Most likely created to adorn his bicorne hat on special occasions it centres on a large oval diamond of 13.04 carats surrounded by two rows of diamonds of varying shapes and sizes. In his haste to flee Waterloo Napoleon had to abandon some of his carriages when they got stuck on a muddy road a few miles from the battlefield. One of them contained precious personal belongings including weapons, medals, silverware, a hat and a jewellery box. The brooch was offered to the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III on June 21, 1815, three days after the battle. It remained in the House of Hohenzollern for many years and has been part of different private collections since.
