Coronation ring

This ring is formed of a fully-engraved gold band, adorned with a bezel set with a table-cut garnet on leaf metal. The shoulders are both decorated with two small brilliant-cut diamonds.

It was originally set with a ruby - the symbol of happiness - which came from the French Crown Jewels, as did the emerald which adorned Napoleon's ring (missing). These two rings, made by the jeweller Marguerite, were blessed by the pope on their coronation day on 2 December 1804.

Handed down within the Napoleon family, Joséphine's ring, whose ruby was substituted with a garnet at some point, was given by King Jérôme, the Emperor's brother, to Princess Marie-Clotilde of Savoy, his daughter-in-law. It entered the museum collections in 1979.