After weeks of anticipation, a necklace linked to the Marie Antoinette scandal known as the “Affair of the Necklace” hit the blocks this week in Geneva—and did not disappoint. The piece achieved more than $4.8 million at the conclusion of a protracted battle among seven bidders during Sotheby’s Royal & Noble Jewels auction. Its high presale estimate had been around $2.8 million.
The bidding battle lasted over seven minutes, Sotheby’s reported. Containing about 300 cts. t.w. diamonds, the neck jewel—which had been estimated to go for 1.6 million to 2.2 million Swiss francs (approximately $1.8 million to $2.48 million)—ultimately sold for 4.26 million francs, or $4.837 million.
“The electricity in the salesroom was palpable, and it will be one of my fondest memories to have been on the phone helping to find its new home,” said Andres White Correal, Sotheby’s chairman of jewelry for Europe and the Middle East, in a statement.
Some of the 500 diamonds in the tassel-style piece are thought to come from the necklace in the infamous “Affair of the Necklace,” an incident connected to Marie Antoinette’s downfall. The French queen’s signature was forged on purchase documents for a diamond necklace, and though the scheme was concocted by others, the scandal further fueled the rage toward the monarchy that led to the French Revolution.
“This rare and important diamond jewel is a sublime survivor from the opulent court life of the Georgian era, defined by its unrivaled pomp and splendor,” Correal said in a statement ahead of the sale. “It is arguably one of the most magnificent and intact Georgian jewels in private hands.”
Top: This piece possibly linked to the 1784–1785 “Affair of the Necklace” achieved over $4.8 million, more than twice the low end of its estimate, at Sotheby’s. (Photos courtesy of Sotheby’s)
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