The dazzling 300-carat necklace is made of 500 diamonds and has ties to Marie Antoinette and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
Sotheby’sSome of the diamonds in this necklace were likely part of an 18th-century scandal that plagued Marie Antoinette.
A necklace once tied to a scandal involving Marie Antoinette just went to auction, captivating history enthusiasts and collectors alike. Some of the diamonds in the stunning piece of jewelry are believed to have come from another necklace that a noblewoman claiming to be the French queen stole in 1785. Individual jewels from the necklace then appeared on the black market, and a portion of them may have been repurposed into this recently sold necklace during the Georgian Era.
The dazzling necklace eventually made its way to a British aristocratic family, was worn to two coronation ceremonies, and was then sold to a private collector in the 1960s. Now, it’s brought in $4.8 million after a bidding war in Geneva, a nod to the enduring allure of these historic jewels.
Marie Antoinette And The ‘Affair Of The Diamond Necklace’
Public Domain A portrait of French queen Marie Antoinette circa 1773.
Perhaps one of the most famous figures in European history, Marie Antoinette was known for her life of luxury. Born in 1755 in Austria, Marie Antoinette married the future King Louis XVI of France in 1770.
Once her husband became king in 1774, Marie Antoinette enjoyed a life suited for royalty. It wasn’t long before rumors began circulating about her expensive tastes. According to some of her contemporaries, Marie Antoinette was notorious for throwing lavish parties and importing the finest fashions from across the continent. Her love for jewelry was well known.
Two years before Louis XVI took the throne, his grandfather, King Louis XV, had commissioned a 2,800-carat necklace made of nearly 650 diamonds from Parisian jewelers Charles Auguste Boehmer and Paul Bassenge for his mistress, Madame du Barry. However, Louis XV died before its completion.
The jewelers reached out to Marie Antoinette to sell her the necklace instead, but she declined the offer. Then, a noblewoman and con-artist named Jeanne de la Motte pretended to be the queen and tricked a cardinal into giving her the necklace after he obtained it from the jewelers with promise of future payment.
Public DomainA portrait presumed to be of Jeanne de la Motte, the woman responsible for the “affair of the diamond necklace.”
Jeanne de la Motte promptly sold the individual diamonds on the black market. She was eventually caught when the jewelers, who never received their payment, reached out to Marie Antoinette directly. The queen denied any knowledge of the purchase, and Jeanne de la Motte was arrested and branded with a hot iron for her thievery.
Although the true culprit was found, the scandal still tarnished Marie Antoinette’s reputation by adding to her notoriety for lavish spending. At a time when the French people were experiencing economic hardship, this was not well received. In fact, some historians believe the incident helped spark the French Revolution that would see Marie Antoinette beheaded.
However, that wasn’t the end of the necklace’s story.
Uncover The Latest History News On All That's Interesting
- Da Vinci Painting That's The Most Expensive Artwork Ever Sold Was Actually Painted By His Assistant, Expert Says
- 'Entrance To The Underworld' Discovered Beneath A 16th-Century Church In Mexico
- More Than 4,500 Unmarked Graves Were Discovered At The Site Of A Former Victorian Workhouse In England
- Researchers Reconstruct The Face Of A 400-Year-Old 'Vampire' Woman Found Buried In Poland With A Blade Across Her Neck
- King Tut's Iconic Burial Mask Wasn't Actually Made For Him, Shocking New Research Suggests
The Diamond Necklace Fetches $4.8 Million At Auction
When the diamonds from the necklace hit the black market, one jeweler purchased 350 of them. It’s believed that some of these jewels were used to craft the necklace that just sold at auction sometime between the 1780s and 1830s.
The new 300-carat necklace features 500 diamonds arranged into three long strands with a tassel at each end. This necklace “could only have been created for royalty or a high-ranking aristocrat at one of the glittering courts of the ancient regime — most likely the French or English court,” according to the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council.
Sotheby’sA demonstration of how the necklace is worn.
At one time, the jewels belonged to an aristocratic British family with close ties to the royals. The Marchioness of Anglesey wore the necklace to the coronation of King George VI in 1937. In 1953, her daughter-in-law wore it to Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.
The necklace remained part of the family’s jewels until the 1960s when it was sold to a private collector. In 1976, it was featured in an exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Now, the diamond necklace has sold once more for a whopping $4.8 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva. After a lengthy and heated bidding war, an unnamed buyer triumphed.
“The client who bought it is ecstatic,” Andres White Correal, a jewelry expert with Sotheby’s, told France24. “She was ready to fight, and she did. [The necklace] will be worn and very much loved.”
According to White Correal, the buyer remarked that she plans to sell the necklace sometime in the future so that others may enjoy it, too.
After reading about the sale of the diamond necklace with ties to Marie Antoinette, go inside the story of the Koh-i-Noor diamond, part of the British royal family’s Crown Jewels and the most expensive diamond on Earth. Then, read about 13 people who fell victim to the curse of the Hope Diamond.
