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Diamond pendant potentially connected to Marie Antoinette's demise up for auction

A diamondstudded necklace thought to be associated with a scandal that led to the eventual failure 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 offered by a Asian private collector in Geneva on Nov. 13 is valued at around 2 million Swiss francs ($ 2.29 million),. Sotheby's stated, although it may fetch a lot more.

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

A subsequent trial found the queen blameless, yet did little. to relieve her growing prestige for luxury which assisted. fuel the French Revolution and Marie Antoinette's beheading.

It's likely or possible that a few of these diamonds may. have originated from the well-known diamond necklace that led to the. downfall of Marie Antoinette, Jessica Wyndham, head of. magnificent jewels sales for Sotheby's, informed Reuters on. Thursday.

What we have actually seen is that jewelry with a noble provenance can. produce a big amount of excitement, she added, citing a pearl. pendant belonging to the French queen which the auction home. offered in 2018 for sometimes its initial estimate.

The diamonds of the initial piece, crafted in 1776, were. later sold piecemeal on the black market so are nearly. impossible to trace. However, some professionals say the quality and. age of the diamonds indicate a match.

The locket, which looks like a neck headscarf, can be worn open. or knotted at the front. Among its previous owners was. Britain's Marquess of Anglesey and a member of the family used it on. the event of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, according to. Sotheby's.

I believe it is among the most exciting pieces that we have actually had. for a long time, not only with the provenance, but the style,. stated Wyndham.

(source: Reuters)