Far from the French crown jewels stolen from the Louvre this week, this historic piece carries its own dramatic past. According to Sotheby’s, the brooch was reportedly abandoned by Napoleon as he fled the battlefield following his 1815 defeat and was later claimed by the victorious King of Prussia. It will be offered at the Royal & Noble Jewels sale in Geneva on November 12.

Crafted in a Parisian atelier around 1810, the circular brooch features an oval diamond weighing over 13 carats at its centre, surrounded by nearly 100 old mine-cut diamonds of varied shapes. Likely worn on Napoleon’s iconic bicorne hat during formal occasions, it is estimated to fetch between $150,000 and $250,000, Sotheby’s told Bloomberg.

Initially presented as a spoil of war just days after Waterloo, the jewel remained within the House of Hohenzollern — the former German imperial dynasty — for generations. It passed from King Friedrich Wilhelm III to Kaiser Wilhelm II and later to his grandson Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia, before entering a private collection in recent years.

As global markets waver, collectors are increasingly drawn to rare historical jewels as stable investments. Sotheby’s annual Royal & Noble auction celebrates such storied pieces, having previously sold a diamond necklace tied to Marie Antoinette for $4.8 million and, in 1987, the Duchess of Windsor’s jewellery collection for $50 million — six times its estimate.

Napoleon’s brooch will headline this year’s sale, alongside notable pieces such as a diamond ring once belonging to Ottoman princess Neslishah Sultan.