Talisman of Charlemagne
Charlemagne had a sapphire talisman/amulet made for his wife by the sorcerers of the court of Haroun el Raschid, Emperor of the East. The talisman had two large cabochon sapphires. One was oval and the other was square. They were set into a remnant of the wood from the Holy Cross (the Cross of Jesus) and a small piece of the Virgin's hair. It was to make their love constant. It must have worked, since he never stopped loving her. This talisman was buried with him at Aix-la-Chapelle, in 814, and re-discovered when the tomb was opened by Otto III in 1000. The talisman was then preserved in the treasury of the Cathedral until it was given, by the canons, to Empress Josephine in 1804, to wear at her coronation.
Each side of the crown was set with a great cabochon [a polished gem that is not cut into facets] sapphire in a foliated [leaf-like] colate [compared in detial to] that rose from the rim of gold. The crown had lots of embossed [a raised design or relief] work and coarse filigree [ornamental openwork of fine wire] with settings of garnets, carbuncles, emeralds, and pearls.
Each side of the crown was set with a great cabochon [a polished gem that is not cut into facets] sapphire in a foliated [leaf-like] colate [compared in detial to] that rose from the rim of gold. The crown had lots of embossed [a raised design or relief] work and coarse filigree [ornamental openwork of fine wire] with settings of garnets, carbuncles, emeralds, and pearls.