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

The blockbuster Napoleon has revived the mystery surrounding the lost jewelry of his wife Josephine.

A necklace and tiara said to have been worn by the glamorous empress were treated and sold by the Harrogate-based family jewelery company Ogden in the 1930s.

But no one knows where these beautiful and historic pieces of jewelry are today.

“It would be very interesting to find out what happened to them,” says co-owner Robert Ogden, who, along with brother Ben, is the fifth generation to run the family business.

Josephine Bonaparte's diamond necklace was purchased in 1933 by their great-uncle, Captain William Ogden.

A newspaper clipping from December 22 that year shows that the chain was purchased for a 'price which was not disclosed but was said to be in the thousands of pounds.'

The Daily Mirror article quoted a member of the Ogden family business as saying: 'They are a beautiful set of diamonds of fine colour, and they are in the old gold setting of that period. They come in a red leather case with a crown engraved and the initial J underneath.”

Another press release shows that the chain was purchased from a 'French source' in London.

Captain Ogden's manager KC Drayson said at the time: 'There is no doubt it was given to her by Napoleon. Negotiations have been going on for some time and the chain was removed from France a few weeks ago.”

Speaking to Mailonline, Ogden, 51, said: 'This is where the story ends.'

He said the chain “certainly would have been resold by Ogden's and would have been a private sale rather than an auction.”

There is no photo of the diamond necklace, but there is a beautiful tiara that was also featured in the Ridley Scott biopic now in theaters across the country.

It was studded with 1,040 diamonds and weighed more than 250 carats.

The diamond tiara is said to have been made for Josephine – played by Vanessa Kirby on the big screen – to mark the Imperial Coronation of 1804.

It came into the possession of the London branch of the Ogden company in the 1930s.

A local historian wrote that it was sold to a 'lady of title' to be worn at George V1's coronation in 1937.

Mr Ogden said the aristocratic buyer was reportedly Sir Robert Mond, a British chemist and archaeologist.

James R Ogden, who founded the company 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 jewelry company Van Cleef & Arpels in 1948.

It was promoted by the company as a 'gift' from Napoleon to his wife Josephine and featured in a company advertisement.

The tiara was given to Princess Grace of Monaco, who wore it at the Century Ball, marking the centenary of Monte Carlo in May 1966.

Rose Kennedy, the mother of President John F Kennedy, also lent the tiara.

In 1969 the tiara was featured at a major exhibition in Paris on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's birth.

The famous tiara eventually left the company's collection, but its whereabouts are unknown.

However, there is now doubt as to whether this tiara actually belonged to Josephine. A French historian noted that it does not appear on inventories of the family jewels and differs from the one on Josephine's head in a coronation painting by Jacques-Louis David commissioned by Napoleon.

The painting would have taken several years to complete and much of it was created from memory.

It was certainly the one after which the filmmakers modeled their coronation jewelry for the Napoleon film.

Whatever the origin, the Ogden family is desperate to find out what happened to the two historic pieces that passed through their business many decades ago.

“We would like to know what happened to both of them,” Mr Ogden said.