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On Sunday the Osenat auction house of Fontainebleau, France, will be auctioning the stunning gold, diamond and sapphire engagement ring Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte gave to Josephine in 1796.
The historic piece, from the personal collection of the country’s last Emperor Napoleon III, is a two tear-shaped gems —a blue sapphire and diamond— that rest side by side facing opposite directions.
The ring is estimated to fetch $13,000 to $20,000, says the auction house.
Napoleon III, the last monarch of France, was the nephew and heir of Napoleon, who never had children with Josephine. She was a widow with one son at the time of her marriage to the military and political leader on March 9, 1796, just before Napoleon departed for his Italian command, according to Osenat.
Bonaparte later married Marie Louise, Archduchess of Austria with whom he had a child, Napoleon II.
Update: Osenat sold the ring for $939,000.
Image from the Osenat catalogue
