If you like jewels steeped in history, follow the Christie’s auction that will be held in Geneva. A brooch that belonged to Empress Eugenie of France will be up for sale. The sale will be part of the Magnificent Jewels sale. It is a rare opportunity. The brooch called Feuilles de Groseillier has not been on sale for more than 125 years. The value of the brooch is estimated at 2-3 million dollars. In this case the value is also given by the certain attribution, while often vintage jewels have somewhat vague attributions. This brooch, however, was already present in an original auction catalog since 1887. The jewel belonged to Eugenie de Montijo, the last Empress of France, who married Napoleon III in 1853. An elegant woman, born into a noble Spanish family, in Granada. Eugenie loved jewels. In particular, this brooch was commissioned from the court jeweler Alfred Bapst in July 1855. But in reality it was one of 30 different «feuilles de Groseilliers» jewels that formed a magnificent parure. The brooch is composed of a group of three currant leaves cut from a large cushion-shaped diamond and three detachable vine leaves. The setting is in white gold and silver.
The story. After the fall of the Second Empire in 1870, Eugénie and her husband left France. In 1887, the French government auctioned off all the royal family’s assets, including their jewels. The parure was then sold in several lots at a 12-day auction in 1887 at Tiffany. The brooch was purchased by the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1936, as a farewell gift to the opera singer Lucrezia Bori, who bequeathed the brooch to the Met.
