House of Bonaparte | GlobalPost

Napoleon's ring, Franz Joseph's hair sold in Vienna

Agence France-PresseApril 26, 2013 05:00

A silver lock of an Austrian emperor's hair and a ring containing a jewel unearthed by Napoleon in Egypt and then given to his wife Josephine have been auctioned in Vienna. Franz Joseph's hair lock went for 13,720 euros ($17,870) to an unidentified buyer while an unnamed Italian telephone bidder bought the ring for 97,900 euros, the Dorotheum auction house said. Napoleon (1769-1821) discovered the antique gemstone during his militarily disastrous but scientifically successful expedition -- it also turned up the famed Rosetta Stone -- to Egypt in 1798-99.

Napoleon's engagement ring on auction in Paris

Agence France-PresseFebruary 15, 2013 13:16

A simple diamond and sapphire engagement ring that Napoleon Bonaparte offered to his first wife Josephine goes on auction near Paris next month, the auction house Osenat said on Friday. The gold ring is topped by two pear-shaped stones and is estimated to fetch up to 12,000 euros ($16,000) at the March 24 auction in Fontainebleau, south of Paris. "At the time, Napoleon had very little money. The ring is a very ordinary one," Jean-Christophe Chataignier, who head Osenat's department of historical objects, told AFP.