Diamond necklace possibly linked to Marie Antoinette's demise up for auction

By Cecile Mantovani and Denis Balibouse

A diamond-studded necklace thought to be involved in a scandal that led to the eventual downfall of the last queen of France, Marie Antoinette, is being sold in Geneva next week.

The Georgian-era piece containing 300 carats of diamonds being sold by a Asian private collector in Geneva on Nov. 13 is valued at around 2 million Swiss francs ($2.29 million), Sotheby's said, although it may fetch much more.

The piece was at the centre of a scandal in the 1780s known as the 'Diamond Necklace Affair' in which a hard-up noblewoman named Jeanne de la Motte pretended to be the French queen and acquired the necklace in her name without payment.

A subsequent trial found the queen blameless, yet did little to alleviate her growing notoriety for extravagance which helped fuel the French Revolution and Marie Antoinette's beheading.

"It's likely or possible that some of these diamonds may have come from the famous diamond necklace that led to the downfall of Marie Antoinette," Jessica Wyndham, head of magnificent jewels sales for Sotheby's, told Reuters on Thursday.

"What we've seen is that jewelry with a noble provenance can generate a huge amount of excitement," she added, citing a pearl pendant belonging to the French queen which the auction house sold in 2018 for many times its initial estimate.

The diamonds of the original piece, crafted in 1776, were later sold piecemeal on the black market so are almost impossible to trace. However, some experts say the quality and age of the diamonds point to a match.

The necklace, which resembles a neck scarf, can be worn open or knotted at the front. One of its previous owners was Britain's Marquess of Anglesey and a family member wore it on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, according to Sotheby's.

"I think it's one of the most exciting pieces that we've had for a long time, not only with the provenance, but the design," said Wyndham.