Diamond Necklace Possibly Linked to Marie Antoinette Sells at Auction for $4.8M

An extremely rare diamond necklace with possible historical links to Marie Antoinette has been sold at auction for nearly $5 million.

On Wednesday, Nov. 13, luxury auction house Sotheby's announced that a Georgian-era 300-carat necklace from the 18th century sold for $4.8 million, over twice its estimated price.

According to Sotheby's, the necklace — made of over 500 likely Golconda diamonds from mines in India — may have been linked to the infamous "Affair of the Diamond Necklace," a scandal that tainted Marie Antoinette's name towards the end of her reign as France's last queen and boosted support for the French revolution.

The necklace once belonged to the British royal family, the Marquesses of Anglesey, before being passed to a private Asian collection. It has been worn at two British coronations, the 1937 coronation of King George VI and then at Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953, Sotheby's added.

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Experts noted that the piece of jewelry would have "been created for royalty or a high-ranking aristocrat at one of the glittering courts of the ancient régime – most likely the French or English court" because of its design — three rows of diamonds with a tassel at each end — although its exact history isn't known, per the auction house.

According to the Palace of Versailles, the "Affair of the Diamond Necklace" began when French jewelers created an extravagant nearly 2,800-carat necklace that was so expensive it could not be sold. After jewelers broke it up into smaller pieces (although it was still considered extremely costly), a noblewoman named Jeanne de la Motte pretended to be a friend of Marie Antoinette to buy it, promising to pay the jewelers at a later date.

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The queen was implicated in the scandal after the jewelers were tricked into believing she would pay for the necklace, and her public perception sunk even lower, although she was later proven innocent. The affair is cited as one incident that contributed to her execution in 1793.

Wednesday's auction, hosted by Sotheby's Royal and Noble Jewels, resulted in a fierce seven-minute bidding war and an anonymous winner ultimately took home the necklace.

The necklace “stands head and shoulders above all other documented Royal and Imperial jewels of the period,” Andres White Correal, the head of royal and noble jewels at Sotheby’s wrote in a statement ahead of the auction.

"This rare and important diamond jewel, is a sublime survivor from the opulent court life of the Georgian era, defined by its pomp and splendor and its grand jewelry tradition," he continued. "... This splendid and exceedingly rare diamond necklace originated during the last years of the 18th century and stands as one of the last surviving court jewels of that era."

In 2018, a pearl pendant known as the "Queen Marie Antoinette's Pearl" — this time proven to have belonged to Marie Antoinette — sold for more than $36 million in another Sotheby's auction.