A necklace believed to include jewels from the notorious Marie Antoinette “Affair of the Diamond Necklace” has been bought for £3.7m.
Set with practically 500 diamonds and weighing about 300 carats, it smashed worth expectations at a Sotheby’s public sale in Geneva.
The Marchioness of Anglesey wore it at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, and it was additionally worn 16 years earlier at King George VI’s crowning.
Nonetheless, the hyperlink to Marie Antoinette, the final queen of France, could have been essentially the most intriguing promoting level for the thriller purchaser.
A number of the jewels are believed to have been on the centre of the Affair of the Diamond Necklace – a scandal which is alleged to have paved the way in which for Antoinette’s eventual downfall.
The scandal erupted when a hard-up noblewoman, Jeanne de la Motte, pretended to be the queen and bought a massively costly necklace in her identify with out paying.
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An undated portrait of Marie Antoinette. (AP Picture)
Antoinette, who was accused of getting a hand within the rip-off, was acquitted in a trial. However the affair discredited her additional within the eyes of the French individuals – amongst whom she was already deeply unpopular.
Her repute by no means recovered, her public appearances all however ceased, and the variety of pamphlets containing malicious gossip about her elevated.
It additionally added to her repute for extravagance that helped gas the French Revolution – with the queen beheaded in 1793.
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Pic: Reuters
Jewels from the unique necklace – which contained practically 650 diamonds and weighed virtually 2,800 carats – werelater bought on the black market, making them exhausting to hint.
Nonetheless, a Bond Road jeweller testified on the time that he purchased about 350 of them for simply over £10,000, based on Sotheby’s.
Consultants say the standard and age of the diamonds within the necklace bought on Wednesday level to a match.
“It’s likely or possible that some of these diamonds may have come from the famous diamond necklace that led to the downfall of Marie Antoinette,” stated Jessica Wyndham, Sotheby’s head of magnificent jewels.
The Georgian-era piece measures 67cm and hadn’t been seen in public for 50 years earlier than it got here up on the market.
Its last sale worth of over 4.2 million Swiss francs was double its pre-auction valuation.
