“A spectacular jewel”: a necklace adorned with 500 diamonds and said to be linked to Marie-Antoinette sold for more than 4.5 million euros

Despite uncertainties about its origin, the 18th century necklace fetched a high price during very lively auctions. The jewel which has survived the centuries intact by “a miracle”, according to Andres White Correal, head of the jewelry department at Sotheby’s Europe, was sold at a price well above estimates.

Valued between 1.8 and 2.8 million dollars, the necklace was sold for 3.55 million Swiss francs (3.79 million euros), reaching after taxes and commissions the sum of 4.26 million francs Swiss (4.55 million euros).

The “Queen’s Necklace Affair”

The buyer, who wished to remain anonymous, made her offer by telephone. “She was ready to fight, and she did,” White Correal told AFP. There is clearly a niche in the market for historic jewelry with fabulous provenance (…). People don’t just buy the item, they also buy the whole story attached to it. »

The piece, adorned with nearly 500 300-carat diamonds, was billed as a “spectacular antique jewel.” Some of the diamonds that make up the necklace come from a jewel at the center of the famous “Queen’s Necklace Affair” which further tarnished Marie-Antoinette’s reputation.

At the time, Cardinal de Rohan, who was seeking to regain the Queen’s favor, was manipulated into serving as an intermediary to purchase the necklace. Once the object was acquired, the crooks took off with it, causing a state scandal, recalls the Château de Versailles on its site.

Worn at two coronations

The necklace made up of three rivers of diamonds ends at both ends with two impressive pompoms. The design highlights the transparency of the precious stones and gives great flexibility to this “rare and very important” Georgian period piece, according to the auction house.

“It is a masterpiece of the Georgian era and a masterful lesson in design, manufacturing and technical innovation for the era,” writes White Correal. According to Sotheby’s, its diamonds likely came from the legendary Golconda mines in India, considered to produce the purest diamonds in the world.