Napoleone

Joséphine’s jewels double the estimate




In the year of the anniversary of Napoleon’s death, two diadems which are traditionally thought to have belonged to Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814), wife of the French emperor, were sold by Sotheby’s London for £ 576,600 (approx. 671.00 euros or 759,000 dollars). A figure that has almost doubled the maximum estimate of 300,000 pounds. A sign that historical jewels retain a charm that goes beyond their material value.

Giuseppina di Beauharnais ritratta da Andrea Appiani
Joséphine de Beauharnais ritratta da Andrea Appiani

Tiaras are considered examples of the finest French craftsmanship of the early 19th century. They were made in Paris around 1808 with a neoclassical design. After the French Revolution, in fact, Napoleon had tried to legitimize his new government by resurrecting historical and cultural references to ancient Rome. Joséphine understood the value of her public image of her, and used clothing and jewelry to evoke the ideals of the ancient world and connect her with the present Empire to increase the prestige of her husband’s regime.
Diadema in oro, cammeo e smalto di Jacques-Amboise Oliveras del 1808 circa con cinque cammei ovali in pietra dura raffiguranti Zeus, Dioniso (probabilmente XVIII secolo), Medusa, Pan e Gaia (probabilmente fine XVI secolo); offerto insieme a una chiusura da cintura di design simile, con un cammeo in agata di Medusa (probabilmente fine del XVI secolo) e un ornamento per cintura con un cammeo in pietra dura di Zeus (1780-1800), nella custodia originale
Diadema in oro, cammeo e smalto di Jacques-Amboise Oliveras del 1808 circa con cinque cammei ovali in pietra dura raffiguranti Zeus, Dioniso (probabilmente XVIII secolo), Medusa, Pan e Gaia (probabilmente fine XVI secolo); offerto insieme a una chiusura da cintura di design simile, con un cammeo in agata di Medusa (probabilmente fine del XVI secolo) e un ornamento per cintura con un cammeo in pietra dura di Zeus (1780-1800), nella custodia originale

The two tiaras are part of a set (designed to also be worn together). They are made of gold and blue champlevé enamel decorated with twenty-five carnelian carvings, predominantly male and female classical heads. They were offered together with a pair of drop earrings, each with a single intaglio and similarly decorated, and a hair comb and belt ornament, centered with a Bacchus carnelian cameo. The jewels have been kept in London for 150 years.

Diadema in oro, cammeo e smalto di Jacques-Amboise Oliveras del 1808 circa con cinque cammei ovali in pietra dura raffiguranti Zeus, Dioniso (probabilmente XVIII secolo), Medusa, Pan e Gaia (fine XVI secolo)
Diadema in oro, cammeo e smalto di Jacques-Amboise Oliveras del 1808 circa con cinque cammei ovali in pietra dura raffiguranti Zeus, Dioniso (probabilmente XVIII secolo), Medusa, Pan e Gaia (fine XVI secolo)







The Spectacle sold by Christie’s for $ 14.2 million




There was anticipation for the sale of the monster-diamond put up for auction by Christie’s in Geneva. The 100.94-carat diamond called The Spectacle, cataloged as D-color, was sold for $ 14.2 million (€ 11.73 million), or $ 141,000 per carat. The diamond was cut from an even larger 207.29-carat rare rough diamond. The cutting process took one year and eight months. The emerald cut was chosen because it allows to maintain the perfect geometry of the crystal.

The Spectacle, diamante D-color, Internally Flawless, da 100,94 carati
The Spectacle, diamante D-color, Internally Flawless, da 100,94 carati

The jewels of Napoleon’s daughter

The super diamond was not the only star of the auction. The other jewelry that attracted media attention were the nine pieces that included a tiara, a necklace, a pair of earrings, two pendants and brooches, a ring and a bracelet. Jewels that have a significant history and sold to coincide with May 5, the 200-year anniversary of Napoleon’s death. An extraordinary coincidence, because the spectacular set of sapphires and diamonds was part of the collection of Napoleon’s adopted daughter, Stephanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden (1789-1860). Result: the collection was sold 100%, reaching a combined total of $ 3.6 million (approximately € 3 million). Together with these jewels, the important sapphire crown that belonged to Mary II Queen of Portugal earned 1.9 million dollars (1.6 million euros).

Crown, octagonal step-cut and oval-shaped sapphires, varied old-cut diamonds, gold, 1850s. Photo: courtesy Christie's
Crown, octagonal step-cut and oval-shaped sapphires, varied old-cut diamonds, gold, 1850s. Photo: courtesy Christie’s

Additional highlights of the sale included a 15.23-carat deep pink fancy diamond, which fetched $ 9.5 million (€ 7.8 million), a Boucheron purplish pink fancy diamond ring ($ 3.5 million). dollars) and a 53.53-carat heart-shaped diamond pendant, which sold for $ 3.1 million.
Anello con diamante ovale rosa intenso da 15,23 carati e diamanti incolori
Anello con diamante ovale rosa intenso da 15,23 carati e diamanti incolori

The general balance sheet of Christie’s Geneva Spring Luxury Season includes three live and two online auctions, including jewelry, wines and watches, with a subsequent following of online sales. The three-day auction total was over $ 95 million, with participants from 50 countries. All five auctions on the agenda welcomed new customers and significant participation was seen through Christie’s Live, the online bidding tool, which saw customers from San Francisco to Moscow and Oslo to Johannesburg bidding actively. In particular, the Magnificent Jewels auction reached $ 64 million (almost 53 million euros) with sales rates of 91% per lot and 98% in value. Bidders from 29 countries participated in the auction.

Anello di diamanti fancy rosa violaceo di Boucheron
Anello di diamanti fancy rosa violaceo di Boucheron

Diamante taglio a cuore da 53,53 carati
Diamante taglio a cuore da 53,53 carati







Napoleonic jewels at auction with Christie’s


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Christie’s is a British auction house founded in 1766. It was born, therefore, three years before Napoleon, who came into the world in 1769 and died in Sant’Elena on May 5, 1821, 200 years ago. The anniversary also finds a sort of celebration in the world of jewelry, with the sale of the spectacular sapphire and diamond set that belonged to the adopted daughter of the French emperor and general, Stephanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden (1789-1860). The set will be among the attractions of the Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction, scheduled in Geneva on 12 May.

Octagonal step-cut sapphires, rose and old-cut diamond, gold, circa 1800. Photo: courtesy Christie's
Octagonal step-cut sapphires, rose and old-cut diamond, gold, circa 1800. Photo: courtesy Christie’s

It consists of nine pieces, including a tiara, a necklace, a pair of earrings, two pendants and brooches, as well as a ring and a bracelet, offered as individual lots. A total of 38 sapphires from Ceylon were used to create this set in the early 1800s. The collection also includes the important sapphire crown of Mary II, Queen of Portugal, set with an extraordinary Burmese sapphire in the center.
Octagonal step-cut sapphire, single and old-cut diamonds, gold, circa 1800, ring size 6½. Photo: courtesy Christie's
Octagonal step-cut sapphire, single and old-cut diamonds, gold, circa 1800, ring size 6½. Photo: courtesy Christie’s

The reconstruction history recalls that Napoleon I in 1796 married Josephine de Beauharnais, Stephanie’s aunt, born on August 28, 1789. Her mother died two years later and Stephanie spent her first years with the nuns in the French countryside. Soon after her aunt’s marriage to Napoleon I, she joined them and grew up in Versailles and Paris. A month before her marriage she was adopted by Napoleon and she became the imperial highness of her princess Stephanie Napoléon and she was then able to marry on 6 April 1806 with Prince Charles of Baden. Together they had five children: two boys, who died at an early age, and three daughters.
Bracelet, octagonal step-cut sapphires, old-cut diamonds, gold, circa 1800. Photo: courtesy Christie's
Bracelet, octagonal step-cut sapphires, old-cut diamonds, gold, circa 1800. Photo: courtesy Christie’s

A record in writing, found between the boxes of jewels, stated that these sapphire jewels were given to Stephanie by her cousin Hortense de Beauharnais. Such an origin is very likely. In many paintings Hortense, and her mother Empress Josephine, can be seen wearing precious belts. Furthermore, Hortense’s financial papers, which are kept in the Napoléon archive in Paris, give evidence of her fortune between 1817 and 1837, the year she passed away. They show that she left Paris in 1816 with little money, but a lot of jewellery.
Crown, octagonal step-cut and oval-shaped sapphires, varied old-cut diamonds, gold, 1850s. Photo: courtesy Christie's
Crown, octagonal step-cut and oval-shaped sapphires, varied old-cut diamonds, gold, 1850s. Photo: courtesy Christie’s

After Stephanie’s death in 1860 the sapphire parure described as ‘necklace, pendant, earrings, 7 pins and a belt’ was inherited by Stephanie’s second daughter, Josephine, Princess of Hohenzollern Sigmaringen. Under Napoléon’s court, belts decorated with precious stones were part of any jewellery parure, as fashion dictated that the waist was very high on dresses and court ladies needed a belt which was placed just under the décolleté.
Earrings, pear and cushion-shaped sapphires, old-cut diamonds, gold, circa 1800. Photo: courtesy Christie's
Earrings, pear and cushion-shaped sapphires, old-cut diamonds, gold, circa 1800. Photo: courtesy Christie’s

It seems the belt was remodelled into a bandeau-tiara and a bracelet by Princess Josephine, who died in 1900, aged 83. In her will, she left the sapphires (necklace, bandeau-tiara, earrings, pendants and bracelet) to her eldest son, Léopold (1835-1905). At this point, Stephanie’s sapphire parure was joined by another spectacular sapphire jewel: a crown with detachable brooches from Queen Maria da Gloria of Portugal (1819-1853).
Pendant, octagonal step-cut sapphire, old-cut diamonds, gold, circa 1800. Photo: courtesy Christie's
Pendant, octagonal step-cut sapphire, old-cut diamonds, gold, circa 1800. Photo: courtesy Christie’s

Maria was born in 1819 in Rio, where her family, the Braganza dynasty, took refuge when Napoléon I invaded their kingdom of Portugal. Her father Pedro, King of Portugal and 1st Emperor of Brazil, abdicated the crown of Portugal in her favour in 1826. Therewith, Maria da Gloria became Queen of Portugal at the age of seven. She died in 1853 after having given birth to 11 children. Her seventh child Infanta Antonia (1845-1913) married Léopold, Prince of Hohenzollern Sigmaringen in 1861, and it is believed that their union united the two sapphire parures.
Brooch, octagonal step-cut sapphire, rose and old-cut diamonds, gold, circa 1800. Photo: courtesy Christie's
Brooch, octagonal step-cut sapphire, rose and old-cut diamonds, gold, circa 1800. Photo: courtesy Christie’s

Necklace, octagonal step-cut sapphires, rose and old-cut diamond, gold, circa 1800, 40.5 cm, black fitted case. Photo: courtesy Christie's
Necklace, octagonal step-cut sapphires, rose and old-cut diamond, gold, circa 1800, 40.5 cm, black fitted case. Photo: courtesy Christie’s
Brooch, oval-shaped sapphire, old-cut diamonds, gold, circa 1800. Photo: courtesy Christie's
Brooch, oval-shaped sapphire, old-cut diamonds, gold, circa 1800. Photo: courtesy Christie’s
Pendant, oval-shaped sapphire, old-cut diamonds, gold, circa 1800. Photo: courtesy Christie's
Pendant, oval-shaped sapphire, old-cut diamonds, gold, circa 1800. Photo: courtesy Christie’s






The diamond of Cardinal Mazarino




The diamond of Cardinal Mazarino, from the four Musketeers to Christie’s auction ♦
Cardinal Mazarino, in addition to being a character used by Alexandre Dumas in his novels with the four Musketeers, was really a great statista. Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino, born in Pescina (Abruzzo, Italy) in 1602, also known as the Franch name of Jules Raymond Mazarin, was a kind of Prime Minister of Louis XIV and, at the death of the king, became in practice the regent of France. He left as inheritance to the mortals not only an intense and important political life, but also a diamond. And now this diamond is auctioned out by Christie’s on November 14 in Geneva. The stone is called Grand Mazarin and was part of the jewelery of the Crown of France.
The name sparks the fantasy, but in any case the stone is of value: it is a fancy pink diamond of 19.07 carats. It was extracted in the now depleted mines of Golconda, India, and was part of the crown treasure. Hand by hand, in 1810 the diamond was worn by Empress Maria Luisa, mounted on a tiara on commission by Napoleon I at jeweler François Regnault Nitot. Napoleon III then handed it over to Empress Eugenia. The Grand Mazarin was auctioned in 1887 and bought by the great jeweler Frédéric Boucheron. In 1962 he came back to the fore, until he was bought by a private person in Europe. The same one that now sells the diamond from Christie’s. The estimate varies between 6 and 9 million dollars. Federico Graglia




Il Grand Mazarin (in basso) in un catalogo d'epoca
Il Grand Mazarin (in basso) in un catalogo d’epoca

Il diamante Grand Mazarin
Il diamante Grand Mazarin
Il Grand Mazarin, diamante rosa da 19,07 carati
Il Grand Mazarin, diamante rosa da 19,07 carati

Philippe de Champaigne, il cardinale Mazarino
Philippe de Champaigne, il cardinale Mazarino







The precious hours of Chaumet

Chaumet enriches Rondes de Nuit collection with a gold jewel-watch and diamond.
Chaumet, the French Maison on Olympus of the jewelery, a year ago launched its collection dedicated to the Empress Joséphine (we talked about here). Review of history: Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814), was the first wife of Emperor Napoleon I from 1796 to 1809. It was, therefore, Empress of the French from 1804 to 1809 and Queen of Italy from 1805 to 1809. But she was also an exceptional style woman and that’s why Chaumet has dedicated a collection of jewelry in white gold and diamonds, plus some colored gemstone. Now the collection, called Rondes de Nuit, is enriched with new pieces, including a jewel-watch that joins the models already present. It’s more a jewel that a watch, even if the dial hands work fine. The cuff that surrounds the wrist is made with the shape of a large chain, with diamond pavé. Among the others new pieces of fine jewelry, including a ring and earrings,are also added those who have already enjoyed a lot of success and a sigh among those who can not buy them. Margherita Donato

Anello con diamanti e zaffiri dedicato a Joséphine
Anello con diamanti e zaffiri dedicato a Joséphine

Anello con diamante fancy intense yellow
Anello con diamante fancy intense yellow
Bracciale-orologio Rondes de Nuit
Bracciale-orologio Rondes de Nuit
Didadema di Chaumet
Didadema di Chaumet
Anello doppio Rondes de Nuit
Anello doppio Rondes de Nuit
Anello Rondes de Nuit
Anello Rondes de Nuit

Chaumet seen by Chaumet

It is baptized Musée éphémère, that means museum for a little time, but in this case the adjective means temporary because the brand new museum of Chaumet, inaugurated with an exhibition on the theme nature, ephemeral has nothing. Indeed, it can count on a solid tradition started in 1780 with the founder, Marie-Etienne Nitot, who was the official supplier to Napoleon and the jeweler of the European aristocracy. A route that for centuries has produced a collection of extraordinary pieces, 55000 archive drawings, 500,000 photographs taken from the end 800 to the present day and 500 prototypes of tiaras made of nickel silver, an alloy of copper, zinc and nickel. The idea is just to tell a story little known through exhibitions that connect the past with the present.

For six months

For example, for the next six months jewelry lovers will have a unique opportunity to find out, on the ground floor of an 18th century building in the Place Vendome, place icon of Parisian luxury, home of the brand that is part of the LVMH group, style unmistakable: Promenade Bucolique is the name of the exhibition on his view of nature, represented by particular reasons of leaves, flowers and insects that are found in the fields and woods. In short, nothing grew. Among the 15 historical pieces, accompanied by original drawings, photographs in black and white and works of art, there is also the famous tiara created in 1811 for the Empress Marie Louise of Austria, Napoleon’s young bride. A tiara from the neoclassical design, consisting of 150 items representing the ears of corn circle on a frame of silver with 60 carats of diamonds. The effect is very light, as if the ears of corn were moved by the wind, and is important because a model has been revised several times by the jeweler in tiaras made during the Belle Epoque and pins produced after World War II.

Next to the wheat, even taken with sheaves miniature, there are other reasons: hawthorn, blades of grass, leaves of acanthus and ivy, typical subject of Romanticism and expression of feelings such as loyalty and attachment, of course. The connection to the present day is a limited set of jewelry that takes the style 1811 in a modern way, where the contrast between the shiny gold and brushed what gives a hyper-realistic, but not only for the occasion were designed from the bees, the main symbol of the empire (Napoleonic) from the body made of colored stones with peridots, mandarin garnets, opals, tourmalines, topaz and yellow sapphires, and wings in white and yellow gold, a delicate diamond-studded tunnel. The exhibition, however, is also a pretext for Chaumet to devote himself again to a theme abandoned in the 70 ‘. In the video you can see his new creations.

Promenade Bucolique

Until 30 January 2016
The musée Ephémère de Chaumet, 12 place Vendôme, Paris
From Monday to Saturday from 10:30 to 19

Chaumet, la tiara disegnata per l'imperatrice Maria Luisa nel 1811
Chaumet, la tiara disegnata per l’imperatrice Maria Luisa nel 1811
Chaumet, diadema con motivi a foglia del 1907
Chaumet, diadema con motivi a foglia del 1907
Chaumet, orecchini collezione Jardins  in oro giallo, diamanti peridoto e franto mandarino
Chaumet, orecchini collezione Jardins in oro giallo, diamanti peridoto e franto mandarino
Chaumet, disegno del 1890 di un davanti de corsage con foglie di alloro e una farfalla
Chaumet, disegno del 1890 di un davanti de corsage con foglie di alloro e una farfalla
Chaumet, spilla a forma di spiga in oro giallo lucido e satinato con diamanti taglio  brillante
Chaumet, spilla a forma di spiga in oro giallo lucido e satinato con diamanti taglio brillante