It was one of the most anticipated auctions of the fall season. The so-called Royal and Noble Jewels of Sotheby’s, which on Wednesday 12 November celebrates its third edition, is truly an event dedicated to the collection of luxury products, gathering every year in Geneva to bid on jewels of great historical importance, which for centuries have been owned by noble and royal houses throughout Europe and, in many cases, were dormant in private collections that decided to sell them. In 2025, following the acquisition in 2024 of a rare and historic 300-carat diamond necklace from the 18th century for $4.8 million, Sotheby’s has prepared another irresistible treat: a brooch belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte. The jewel was sold at auction for 3.8 million euros.
The piece, which was offered for between €130,000 and €216,000, was worn on the French Emperor’s hat on special occasions, but ended up getting lost during his journey at the Battle of Waterloo, which was already besieged by British and Prussian armies, and his carts full of his treasures were muddy near the battlefield. The circular brooch, which is 45 millimeters in diameter, has a large 13.04-carat oval diamond at its center and is surrounded by nearly a hundred diamonds of various shapes and sizes arranged in two concentric rows, ended up serving as a war trophy for the Prussian King Frederick William III. In any case, Napoleon would no longer need him on the island of St. Helena, where the British had sent him.
In an intense auction that lasted less than 10 minutes, four bidders were by phone and another connected Another present in the auction hall of the Swiss city competed for the so-called hat button, which finally reached 30 times its expected minimum price, with its final price reaching $4,380,534, or approximately 3.8 million euros. Its new owner is a distinguished international art collector, and Sotheby’s did not mention his name.
The other Napoleonic jewel that appeared at the auction, a 132.66-carat green beryl with a starting price of between 34,000 and 51,000 euros, which the emperor wore at his coronation in 1804, was acquired by an American museum that made an online bid for a surprising price of $1,041,044, more than 25 times its minimum estimate.
Among the other jewels at the Sotheby’s auction that generated the most excitement was a pink diamond ring that belonged to Russian Empress Catherine I and later formed part of the private collection of the last Ottoman princess, Fatma Neslisa (who died aged 91 in 2012). The bidding reached 12 times its minimum estimate, with the final price reaching $3,622,914 (3,118,785 euros).
This latest auction of Royal and Noble Jewels, the only one of its kind in the world, is Sotheby’s third successive auction of what is known in the auction world as a “white glove” sale, in which the auctioneer is usually given, at the end of the session, white gloves to symbolize success. In this edition, the house achieved a total of $14,328,947, €12,335,074, the highest value achieved by the Royal and Noble auction since it became a fixed date in Sotheby’s annual sales calendar, in 2023.
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