AP News reports that a diamond brooch lost by Napoleon during the Battle of Waterloo sold for over 3.5 million Swiss francs at a Geneva auction. The brooch, featuring a 13-carat oval diamond, significantly exceeded its pre-sale estimate. This sale price was boosted by a “private collector,” as well as the recent theft of Napoleonic jewels at the Louvre museum in Paris. A green beryl also worn by Napoleon sold for nearly 1 million Swiss francs.
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A record-breaking Martian meteorite, NWA 16788, weighing 54 pounds, is set to be auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York with an estimated value of $2-$4 million. This remarkable find, the largest piece of Mars discovered on Earth, was likely ejected from the planet by an asteroid impact and traveled millions of miles before landing in the Sahara. The meteorite, identified as an “olivine-microgabbroic shergottite,” is 70% larger than the next largest Martian piece and represents nearly 7% of all Martian material on Earth. Along with the meteorite, the auction also features a juvenile Ceratosaurus dinosaur skeleton.
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John Q. Hosedrinker