Empress Marie-Louise’s Emerald Necklace

We were heartbroken to hear of the recent theft from the Louvre of a number of priceless French royal jewels.

However, the loss of one particularly magnificent suite of emerald jewellery caused us great personal sadness. This set of necklace and earrings was one of several presents the emperor Napoleon lavished on his second bride, Marie-Louise of Austria in 1810.

By 1810, Napoleon was at the very height of his power and Britain stood largely alone in opposition to the Continental System and his monstrous ambition. However, he lacked an heir and his family, though they sat on the thrones not only of France but of Spain, Naples and the Low Countries, had none of the legitimacy of Europe’s long established ruling dynasties. In light of this, Napoleon decided to find a new bride. An initial plan to marry one of the sisters of Tsar Alexander I was abandoned, and the 18 year old Marie-Louise, daughter of Francis II, Emperor of the recently defeated Austrians, was selected. Their marriage was to last only four years.

Following our well publicised sale to the Louvre in 2002 of an exquisite emerald tiara that had belonged to the Duchesse d’Angouleme, daughter of the restored Louis XVI, we were approached the following year by a private European family, the then owners of the emerald necklace and earrings and Humphrey Butler Ltd negotiated the sale of these outstanding jewels to the Louvre for a then world record price.

To have handled a suite of jewels of this significance remains one of the great privileges of our 25 years in business. Pieces of this quality with a history of genuinely historic political importance are vanishingly rare and their loss is a tragedy. We wish the French authorities every success in their attempts to recover them.