Napoleon’s engagement ring to Josephine up for auction
25 March 2013 7:09 AM IST
A simple 18th-century diamond and sapphire ring that French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte gave to his first wife Josephine on their engagement is expected to fetch USD 20,000 at an auction.
The gold ring given to Josephine de Beauharnais by Napoleon in 1796 has opposing tear shaped jewels, a blue sapphire and a diamond. The carat weight of the two gems is little less than a carat each. The ring will go on sale at the Osenat auction house in Fontainebleau outside Paris where the bidding is expected to reach at least USD 20,000, ABC News reported.
‘At the time Napoleon was a young and promising officer, but he was not rich. He must have broken his wallet to buy this quality ring,’ Osenat’s expert Jean-Christophe Chataignier said.
‘The auction will celebrate 250th anniversary of Josephine’s birth,’ said David Chanteranne, the editor-in-chief of Napoleon I Magazine.
The gold ring given to Josephine de Beauharnais by Napoleon in 1796 has opposing tear shaped jewels, a blue sapphire and a diamond. The carat weight of the two gems is little less than a carat each. The ring will go on sale at the Osenat auction house in Fontainebleau outside Paris where the bidding is expected to reach at least USD 20,000, ABC News reported.
‘At the time Napoleon was a young and promising officer, but he was not rich. He must have broken his wallet to buy this quality ring,’ Osenat’s expert Jean-Christophe Chataignier said.
‘The auction will celebrate 250th anniversary of Josephine’s birth,’ said David Chanteranne, the editor-in-chief of Napoleon I Magazine.
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