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Queen with a pearl earring: Marie Antoinette's jewellery up for auction Marie Antoinette's pearl pendant sells for record price of $32m
(about 7 hours later)
Diamond and pearl earrings, pearl necklaces, a giant pearl pendant and other jewellery once belonging to Marie Antoinette are set to go on auction in Geneva, showcasing perhaps the quintessential emblems of pre-revolutionary royal opulence in France. A large, drop-shaped natural pearl pendant sold for a hammer price of $32m (£25m) at an auction of jewellery that once belonged to French queen Marie Antoinette, which Sotheby’s is calling a record price for a pearl at auction.
Sotheby’s is billing Wednesday’s sale as a rare chance to buy heirlooms and jewels that have been held in the Bourbon-Parma dynasty for generations, some of which haven’t been seen publicly for 200 years. The Queen Marie Antoinette’s Pearl, a diamond-and-pearl pendant, was among the highlight offerings on the block at the Sotheby’s sale of jewellery from the Bourbon-Parma dynasty.
Marie Antoinette, who was guillotined in 1793 aged 37, had secretly smuggled abroad some of her most treasured possessions to her relatives living abroad, amid swelling revolutionary fervour that ultimately marked the beginning of the end of France’s centuries-old monarchy. Like many of the 10 former Marie Antoinette pieces up for sale on Wednesday, the pendant obliterated the pre-auction price, in this case $1m-$2m.
Perhaps the highlight piece is Queen Marie Antoinette’s Pearl,a diamond-and-pearl pendant estimated to fetch $1m-$2m. It features a drop-shaped, 2.58cm natural pearl that outsizes the Peregrina that was once in Hollywood star Elizabeth Taylor’s collection. The total tally was expected to rise with the inclusion of the buyer’s premium and other fees.
“The Marie Antoinette pendant is simply irreplaceable,” said Eddie LeVian, CEO of jewellers Le Vian. “This is about far more than the gems themselves: Marie Antoinette’s jewellery is inextricably linked to the cause of the French revolution.” Sotheby’s billed the sale as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to scoop up heirlooms and jewels that have been held in the Bourbon-Parma dynasty for generations. Some of the Marie Antoinette jewellery had not been seen in public for 200 years until now.
The queen’s jewellery is split across several lots, also including a set of pearl and diamond earrings, a diamond brooch, and a natural pearl and diamond necklace. A monogrammed, diamond-set ring bears a lock of Marie Antoinette’s hair. The diamond and pearl jewellery that went under the hammer epitomised the aloof, pre-revolutionary opulence of French royals brought down by the historic uprising.
Marie Antoinette, the wife of King Louis XVI, was executed in France’s revolutionary fervor in 1793.
Before falling victim to the guillotine, she had secretly smuggled abroad some of her most treasured possessions to her relatives, amid swelling revolutionary activity that ultimately marked the beginning of the end for France’s centuries-old monarchy.
“The Marie Antoinette pendant is simply irreplaceable,” Eddie LeVian, the chief executive of jewellers Le Vian, said before the sale. “This is about far more than the gems themselves: Marie Antoinette’s jewellery is inextricably linked to the cause of the French Revolution.”
The queen’s jewellery also included a set of pearl and diamond earrings, a diamond brooch and a natural pearl and diamond necklace. A monogrammed, diamond-set ring bears a lock of Marie Antoinette’s hair.
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