Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Updated: Napoleon's Engagement Ring To Empress Joséphine May Fetch $20,000 At Auction

http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonydemarco/2013/03/16/napoleons-engagement-ring-to-empress-josephine-may-fetch-20000-at-auction/
In 1796, as a symbol of his love for 
his wife-to-be Joséphine, Napoleon 
Bonaparte presented her with a 
diamond and sapphire engagement ring. 
This same ring will be up for bid March 24 
at theOsenat auction house in Fontainebleau, 
France. It is estimated to fetch $13,000 to 
$20,000.
The gold ring, with an origin listed as 
18th Century, is adorned with two 
pear-shaped stones (also described 
as “tear shaped” in media reports), 
a blue sapphire and diamond that rest 
side by side facing opposite directions.
Updated information:  The carat-weight 
of each gem is approximately one carat each, 
said Jean Christophe Chatignier, a partner 
with the auction house, who responded 
to my e-mail Monday morning.
Empress Joséphine was 32 years old, 
six years older than Napoleon, and a 
widow with a son and daughter at the 
time of their marriage on March 9, 1796, 
just before Napoleon departed for his 
Italian command, according to the auction house.
The ring is from the collection of Emperor 
Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie, according 
to the auction house. Napoleon III, the last 
monarch of France, was the nephew and 
Empress Joséphine did not produce an heir, although Napoleon formally adopted her son 
to divorce Joséphine so he could remarry for 
an heir. In March 1810, he married Marie 
Louise, Archduchess of Austria. The couple 
had one child, Napoleon Francis Joseph 
Charles. He became Napoleon II in 1814 
and reigned for only two weeks. He was 
given the title of the Duke of Reichstadt in 
1818 and died of tuberculosis in 1832 at 
the age of 21, with no children.
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Anthony DeMarco, Contributor

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