One of the most beautiful women in Europe was the Empress Eugenie of Montijo, wife of Louis Napoleon, who was also considered one of the most elegant women on the continent. One of the most famous pieces in her collection was a diamond brooch made in 1855 by the Parisian jeweler Francois Kramer.

The empress’ beautiful brooch was sold in the Louvre for the exorbitant sum of 11 million dollars. The brooch in question is known as “Currant Leaves” and was protected for 125 years. It is a very beautiful jewel and of great historical value.

According to history, this brooch was commissioned by the Empress to the Jewelers Bapst, who made most of her jewellery. The design of this brooch includes three leaves of diamonds joined in the center by a huge cushion-cut diamond, which is also adorned with three trimmings formed with diamonds of different sizes of antique carving.

The complement of the jewel is a garland, a corsage tour, used as a necklace, which she wore on the dress and with the beautiful brooch devant de corsage. It is presumed that the antiquity was designed as a buckle for a belt, however, Eugenie requested that it become a pin.

After the fall of the Second Empire, in 1870, Eugenie and her husband Napoleon III moved to England, leaving many of the Crown’s jewels. After 17 years, the Government of France auctioned in 1887 many of the royal family’s jewels, many of them were destroyed and other pieces were sold separately.

In 2015, Chistie’s auction house announced the auction of the Empress of Montijo’s brooch, estimating its initial value at three million dollars.  The brooch was acquired by Tiffany & Co and years later it was delivered to the Metropolitan Opera of New York as a gift and tribute to Madam Lucrezia Bori, famous Spanish soprano, who had sung on important stages such as the Milan Scale.

Lucrezia Bori debuted on the famous New York stage in 1910 playing Monon Lesccaut by Puccini and in her career with the Metropolitan Opera of New York she made 64 appearances and won the leading role of 39 plays. For her contribution to the hall and her impeccable performances as Mimi in La Bohéme and Violetta in La Traviata, as well as being the first elected interpreter in the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Opera Association of New York, she was given the beautiful jewel belonging to Empress Eugenie.

After Bori’s death, in 1960, the singer in her will inherited the precious jewel to the Metropolitan Opera of New York (MET) and it was exhibited in the facilities, until the economic crisis that the institution was going through it was auctioned again, since according to MET managers, it was not essential for its artistic mission, while its sale would save them financially.

ALFA