A mysterious diamond necklace, potentially linked to a Marie Antoinette scandal, fetched $4.8 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva. Initially projected to sell for $1.8-2.8 million at the Royal and Noble Jewels sale, energetic bidding pushed the final price to $4.81 million after taxes and commissions.
The necklace from the 18th century boasts about 300 carats of diamonds, and its price was set at 3.55 million Swiss francs ($4 million) before additional costs. The anonymous buyer, who placed her bid over the phone, was thrilled with the purchase, according to Andres White Correal, chairman of Sotheby’s jewellery department. He described the auction night as electric and emphasized the strong market interest in historical jewels with significant provenances.
Dubbed a “survivor of history,” the necklace features three rows of diamonds, each ending in a diamond tassel. It is believed to include some diamonds from the “Diamond Necklace Affair,” a scandal in the 1780s that damaged Marie Antoinette’s reputation and fueled the French Revolution.
This necklace had remained unseen for 50 years, coming from a private Asian collection and was believed to have been crafted just before the French Revolution. It has historical connections to the Marquesses of Anglesey, whose members wore it at the coronations of King George VI in 1937 and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
Sotheby speculated that some diamonds might have originated from the Golconda mines in India, known for their pure and brilliant diamonds. The piece’s rich history and ties to significant historical figures and events made it an exceptional find.
Tobias Kormind, head of Europe’s largest online diamond jeweller, 77 Diamonds, remarked on the exceptional nature of the purchase, highlighting the necklace’s quality, historical significance, and the allure of its legendary origins.
