Blockbuster film Napoleon reignites mystery over his wife Josephine's lost jewellery: Hunt for necklace and tiara worn by the empress during the imperial coronation of 1804
- Necklace and tiara were sold by Harrogate-based jewellery firm Ogden in 1930s
The blockbuster film Napoleon has reignited a mystery over his wife Josephine's lost jewellery.
A necklace and tiara said to have been worn by the glamorous empress were handled and sold by the Harrogate-based family jewellery firm Ogden during the 1930s.
But nobody knows where these magnificent and historic pieces of jewellery are today.
'It would be really interesting to find out what happened to them,' said co-owner Robert Ogden, who along with brother Ben is the fifth generation to run the family firm.
Josephine Bonaparte's diamond necklace was bought in 1933 by their great uncle Captain William Ogden.
The diamond tiara was said to have been made for Josephine – played by Vanessa Kirby on the big screen – for the imperial coronation of 1804
The blockbuster film Napoleon has reignited a mystery over his wife Josephine's lost jewellery. A necklace and tiara (pictured) said to have been worn by the glamorous empress were handled and sold by the Harrogate-based family jewellery firm Ogden during the 1930s
A newspaper cutting from 22 December of that year records the necklace was bought at a 'price which was not divulged, but which is said to run into thousands of pounds.'
The Daily Mirror article quoted a member of the Ogden family firm saying 'it is a wonderful range of diamonds of fine colour, and they are in the old gold setting of the period. They are in a red leather case with a crown engraved and the initial J underneath.'
A further press cutting states the necklace was bought from a 'French source' in London.
Captain Ogden's manager KC Drayson said at the time: 'There is no doubt that it was given to her by Napoleon. Negotiations have been going on for some time and the necklace was brought from France some weeks ago.'
Speaking to Mailonline, Mr Ogden, 51, said 'this is where the story runs out.'
He said the necklace 'would certainly have been sold on from Ogden's and would have been a private sale rather than an auction.'
There is no photograph of the diamond necklace, but there is of a stunning tiara that also featured in Ridley Scott's biopic film now playing in cinemas across the country.
It was studded with 1,040 diamonds and weighed over 250 carats.
The diamond tiara was said to have been made for Josephine – played by Vanessa Kirby on the big screen – for the imperial coronation of 1804.
Joaquin Phoenix's Napoleon is seen crowning Kirby's Josephine in a depiction of the imperial coronation in 1804
It came into the possession of the London branch of the Ogden firm in the 1930s.
A local historian recorded it was sold to a 'lady of title' to be worn at George V1's coronation in 1937.
Mr Ogden said the aristocratic purchaser was reportedly Sir Robert Mond, a British chemist and archaeologist.
James R Ogden, who founded the firm in 1893, was an Egyptologist and that 'may explain the connection.'
Sir Robert died in 1938 and his widow Marie-Louise sold the diadem to the luxury jewellery company Van Cleef & Arpels in 1948.
It was promoted by the firm as a 'gift' from Napoleon to his wife Josephine and featured on a company advert.
Indeed, the tiara was leant to Princess Grace of Monaco, who wore it to the Century Ball, celebrating the 100th anniversary of Monte Carlo in May 1966.
Rose Kennedy, the mother of President John F Kennedy, also borrowed the tiara.
In 1969 the tiara featured in a major Paris exhibition to mark the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's birth.
Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon in Ridley Scott's drama
Ogden is based in Harrogate, Yorkshire, and is still run by the same family
'It would be really interesting to find out what happened to them,' said co-owner Robert Ogden, who along with brother Ben is the fifth generation to run the family firm. Josephine Bonaparte's diamond necklace was bought in 1933 by their great uncle Captain William Ogden. Above: The brothers with a portrait of their ancestor
Napoleon ruled France and controlled much of Europe from 1804 until he was conclusively defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815
The famous tiara eventually left the firm's collection, but where it has gone is not known.
However, there is now doubt as to whether this tiara really did belong to Josephine. A French historian noted it doesn't appear on inventories of the family jewels and differs from the one on Josephine's head in a coronation painting by Jacques-Louis David and commissioned by Napoleon.
The painting is said to have taken several years to complete and much of it was done from memory.
It was certainly the one on which the film makers modelled their coronation jewellery on for the Napoleon film.
Whatever the truth of its origins, the Ogden family is desperate to discover what has happened to the two historic pieces that passed through their firm many decades ago.
'We would love to find out what happened to both of them,' said Mr Ogden.
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