A rare necklace containing approximately 300 carats of diamonds, some of which may have ties to Marie Antoinette, is set to hit the auction block at Sotheby’s in Geneva.
The piece, which is making its first public debut in 50 years, belonged to Marjorie Paget, marchioness of Anglesey and oldest daughter of Henry Manners, the eighth duke of Rutland. She wore it to the coronation of King George VI, together with the famous Anglesey tiara, Sotheby’s said Monday. Her daughter-in-law wore the same jewels to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
The auction house will offer the necklace, likely created in the decade preceding the French Revolution, at its November 11 Royal and Noble Jewels sale in Geneva, for up to CHF 2.4 million ($2.8 million). Experts believe that some of the diamonds in the jewel may have come from the famous necklace linked to what became the scandal of the “Affair of the Necklace,” which contributed to the advent of the French Revolution, and eventually, Marie Antionette’s death.
The piece is composed of three rows of diamonds finished with a diamond tassel at each end. It can be worn open, with the tassels hanging, or tied in a knot.
“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; it is arguably one of the most magnificent and intact Georgian jewels in private hands,” said Andres White Correal, chairman of jewelry for Europe and the Middle East, and head of the Noble Jewels sale. “When compared to other surviving imperial and royal jewels from the same period, this necklace stands head and shoulders above these examples; it is a fortune in diamonds, and also a master class in exquisite design, workmanship and technical innovation for the period. The jewel is as relevant, alluring, and appealing today as when it was made over two centuries ago. It is the nec plus ultra of 18th-century jewelry design.”
Prior to its sale in Geneva, Sotheby’s will exhibit the necklace in London; Hong Kong; New York; Singapore; Taipei, Taiwan; and Dubai.
Image: The 300-carat diamond necklace. (Sotheby’s)
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