Napoleon's brooch sold for $4.4 million at auction

A diamond brooch, which probably belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte, was purchased by a private collector for $4.4 million at Sotheby's in Geneva. The price exceeded the preliminary estimate of $150,000 to $250,000. This was reported to by on the Sotheby's website.

Sotheby's, the fourth oldest auction house in the world, has sold the historic jewelry to a new owner. The final price was almost 17 times higher than the highest estimate.

According to the auction house's description, this brooch can be uniquely identified as a hat ornament left by Napoleon in his carriage during his retreat from the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

The brooch, which can also be worn as a pendant, features an oval diamond weighing over 13.04 carats, framed by smaller stones.

According to Sotheby's, this precious piece was discovered among Napoleon's personal belongings left in carriages that got bogged down in the mud when the emperor and his troops were retreating from the British forces of the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian army under Field Marshal von Blücher.

The brooch remained in the possession of the Hohenzollern royal house for about two centuries. The dynasty ruled Prussia and later the German Empire until 1918. In recent years, the jewelry was in a private collection, from where it came to auction.

• In 2024, the oldest of known stone tablets with the 10 Commandments was sold at Sotheby's for more than $5 million.