The auction house Sotheby’s has recently sold a diamond-studded necklace believed to be linked to the scandal that contributed to the downfall of Queen Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution.
A diamond-studded necklace, potentially associated with the late Queen of France Marie Antoinette, was sold for 4.81 million USD (over 122 billion VND) at an auction in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 13.
The necklace studded with nearly 500 diamonds holds significant historical value. (PHOTO: REUTERS).
Offered for sale by a private Asian collector, the jewelry features 300 carats of diamonds and sold for more than expected, according to Sotheby’s.
“Clearly, there is a niche market for historically significant jewelry with unusual provenance. People are not just buying objects; they are buying the entire history associated with them,” said jewelry expert Andres White Correal at Sotheby’s.
The necklace includes diamonds from a previous necklace, which played a role in the downfall of the late Queen Antoinette.
Marie Antoinette was an Austrian royal who became the wife of King Louis XVI of France. Both were executed by guillotine in 1793 during the French Revolution.
The necklace was initially at the center of the scandal known as the “Diamond Necklace Affair” in 1785. At that time, a financially struggling noblewoman named Jeanne de la Motte impersonated the Queen of France and purchased the necklace without paying.
A subsequent trial declared the Queen innocent, but it did little to quell her growing infamy for lavishness, which contributed to the revolution and the overthrow of the French monarchy.
The diamonds from the original necklace, crafted in the 1770s, were later sold separately on the black market, making them nearly impossible to trace.
However, some experts, after evaluating the quality and age, determined that some of the diamonds were set into the necklace auctioned above. This necklace, resembling a scarf, can be worn loose or tied at the front.
A previous owner of the necklace was the Marquess of Anglesey in England. A family member of this marquess wore it during the coronation ceremony of the late Queen Elizabeth II, Sotheby’s reported.
