A collection of French treasures, including the Consular Sword, will be part of a display of nearly 300 precious objects at the Palace Museum in Beijing from Tuesday. [Photo/China Daily]

Sadly, the exhibition will not go to other Chinese cities, and Mansvelt jokes that "maybe you will have to wait for another 200 years to see Napoleon's sword travel out of France".

But, he adds that more exhibitions of Chaumet jewelry are likely to be held in China.

"The possibilities are enormous," Mansvelt says."If other (Chinese) museums or art galleries are interested, we are interested.

"But we want to do something different."

Contact the writer at wangkaihao@chinadaily.com.cn

If you go

Imperial Splendours: The Art of Jewelry since the 18th Century

8:30 am-4:30 pm, closed on Mondays, through July 17.Meridian Gate (Wumen) Gallery, the Palace Museum, 4 Jingshan Qianjie, Dongcheng district, Beijing.