Napoleon And Josephine Engagement Ring
The engagement ring napoleon gave his fiancee and future empress josephine brought in close to 1 million today when it was auctioned off at osenat in france far exceeding the preauction.
Napoleon and josephine engagement ring. To celebrate their engagement napoleon reportedly gave josephine today s ring. The engagement ring in gold is in an 18th century setting called toi et moi in french. The ring that a young napoleon gave to josephine for their engagement in 1776 has been sold at auction for 949 000 730 000 not including commission and other fees. A sapphire and diamond toi et moi ring featuring two pear shaped stones that each weigh just under one carat it was an extravagant purchase for a military man who had not yet climbed to imperial heights.
When napoleon gave this ring to josephine he was a young officer. In napoleon s case he chose blue sapphire and diamond. While it didn t fetch as much as contemporary celebrity jewelry pieces such as those of elizabeth taylor s in auctions the teardrop shaped toi et moi ring nevertheless cost the winning bidder a pretty penny. The winning bid was almost 50 times the 20 000 estimate that the auction house expected it to bring in.
An anonymous bidder now owns a sparkling piece of history. This you and me design is set with pear shaped gems.