Royal Jewels: From Charlemagne To The Romanovs
“As lady-in-waiting to Empress Marie Louise, Napoleon’s second wife and daughter of Emperor Francis I of Austria, [Countess Vilain XIIII, born Sophie Louise Zoe de Feltz] had sustained relationships with the emperor and his wife and for this reason had a special role at the christening of the King of Rome in 1811… Zoe de Feltz received a necklace and earrings of amethysts and brilliants as a souvenir for the occasion… On 15 May 1852, a year before her death, Zoe gave the parure to Bazel church where it was worn by a statue during the annual processions until the 1970s. However, the loss of an earring during one of these ceremonies put an end to this tradition. The earring was eventually found, somewhat damaged, along the route of the procession. Since then a diamond has been missing from the rosette. The parure was subsequently placed in the safe of Bazel church council,”
- Royal Jewels: From Charlemagne To The Romanovs by Diana Scarisbrick, Christophe Vachaudez, and Jan Walgrave