A jewel linked to Queen Marie Antoinette?

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Since Carol Woolton’s article in the Daily Mail on 23 September, the hype has been high for a very special jewel that could be related to a very famous Queen, Marie Antoinette.

Next November, Sotheby’s Geneva Royal & Noble auction will present a unique object rumoured to be linked to the infamous necklace that ruined the Queen’s reputation and caused her downfall.

It is a “Rare and Highly Important 18th-century Necklace,” with a sales estimate of CHF 1,600,000 – 2,400,000 (which we expect will go to the roof—quite literally).

Formerly in the Marquess of Anglesey’s collection, the auction house describes the jewel as “Designed as a pair of old cushion-shaped diamond tassels connected by three rows of collet-set old cushion-shaped and circular-cut diamonds.”

But what does connect this jewel to the Queen of France’s legendary necklace?

A bit of history – The Affair of the Necklace (1784-1785)

Everything starts with Queen Marie Antoinette and a fabulous necklace designed by Böhmer & Bassenge, the Crown jewellers.

King Louis XV commissioned this spectacular jewel for his favourite, Mme du Barry. At the king’s death, the necklace was unpaid for, which almost bankrupted the jewellers and then led to various unsuccessful schemes to secure a sale to Queen Marie Antoinette.

The story goes that the jewellers hoped it would be a product that the new Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, would buy. Indeed, in 1778, the new king, Louis XVI, offered it to his wife as a present, but she refused.

Some say Marie Antoinette refused the necklace because it was created for du Barry, whom she intensely disliked. Others say Louis XVI himself changed his mind.

After having vainly tried to place the necklace outside France, the jewellers again attempted to sell it to Marie Antoinette after the birth of Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, in 1781. The Queen again refused. At this point, Cardinal de Rohan enters this complicated story.

Grand Almoner of France, Cardinal de Rohan has been in disgrace with the queen since his return from Vienna as ambassador. On her mother’s advice, Maria Theresa of Austria, Marie Antoinette excludes him from her circle due to his licentious behaviour. Eager to regain her trust, the cardinal is ready to do anything.

In his entourage, a pseudo-Countess de La Motte, a true descendant of an illegitimate son of Henry II of Valois but a hoaxer above all, claims to be a friend of the sovereign.

She promises the cardinal a return to favour. To this end, on August 11, 1784, she organised a nocturnal meeting in the Queen’s Grove. The supposed Marie Antoinette comforts the cardinal about his situation. Rohan is over the moon!

For several years, the Crown jewellers Böhmer and Bassenge have been trying to sell the sumptuous necklace of nearly 650 diamonds weighing 2,800 carats. Its price was indeed astronomical despite a reduction to 1.6 million livres. Madame de La Motte mentioned it to the cardinal, who agreed to act as a proxy for the sovereign, with payment scheduled in four instalments over two years. The jewellers were delighted they finally found a buyer. They handed over the necklace to the cardinal on February 1, 1785, who gave it to Madame de La Motte, who disappeared with her accomplices.

On July 12, Böhmer gave the Queen a letter alluding to the necklace she didn’t take seriously and destroyed. In her silence, the jeweller pressed the issue again in August. He expressed surprise to Madame Campan, her lady-in-waiting, at not having received full payment for the jewel. Learning from her what the jewellers wanted, Marie Antoinette demanded explanations. The affair was uncovered.

On August 15, before celebrating Mass in the royal chapel, Rohan was summoned by the King. Upon leaving his office, he was arrested in the Hall of Mirrors amid astonished courtiers. The scandal broke out.

The cardinal was tried before the Parliament of Paris in May 1786. Against all expectations, he was acquitted. Madame de La Motte and her accomplices were arrested and tried. She was branded with the “V” for “voleuse” (thief) with a red-hot iron.

Although innocent, the Queen ultimately appeared guilty. The scandal was all about her. She could never shake off the idea in the public imagination that she had perpetrated an extravagant fraud for her frivolous ends.

Back to contemporary times

Flash forward to today and the “Rare and Highly Important 18th-century jewel” at Sotheby’s.

Sotheby states, “this rare and highly important diamond jewel was likely created in the decade preceding the French Revolution. Though its precise origin story is not recorded, such an important and historic antique jewel could only 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. It is thought that some of the diamonds featured in this 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-Antoinette’s death.” 

The idea that some of the diamonds in this jewel may have come from the Böhmer & Bassenge necklace may come from the fact that, once in possession of the jewel, Jeanne de la Motte and her accomplices immediately dismantled it and sold the stones on the black markets in Paris and London.

Hence, the probability that the jewel might have some stones from that legendary creation is fascinating and makes us dream of the French Court in all its scandalous opulence.

Now, we move from Versailles to the United Kingdom because the diamond jewel offered at auction belonged to the Marquesses of Anglesey, a leading Anglo-Welsh aristocratic family with close ties to the British Royal family in the early 20th century.

In 1937, Marjorie Paget, Marchioness of Anglesey (eldest daughter of Henry Manners, 8th Duke of Rutland), wore the jewel to the coronation of King George VI, together with the famous Anglesey tiara.

She was immortalised wearing her coronation robes and diamond jewel by the renowned society photographer Cecil Beaton.

In 1953, her daughter-in-law attended Queen Elizabeth II‘s coronation wearing the same ensemble of heirloom jewels. The seventh Marquess of Anglesey parted with the piece around the 1960s. In 1976, it was exhibited in the Bicentennial Exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History before being acquired by an important private collector, where it has remained ever since. 

A close-up of the jewel

This late 18th-century jewel, weighing approximately 300 carats, is a technically amazing piece of jewellery composed of three rows of diamonds finished with diamond tassels at each end.

Jewels of this era were characterised by their opulence and versatility: one piece could be worn as a necklace or sewn onto a piece of clothing as an ornament. In this case, the jewel—also referred to as “négligé”—can be worn around the neck with the tassels hanging or tied in a simple knot. 

All the diamonds in the jewel are in an old mine, brilliant cut, weighing between one and one and a half carats each. They are likely to have been sourced from the legendary Golconda mines in India.

Before its sale next November at the Mandarin Oriental in Geneva, this historic antique jewel has started a world tour to be exhibited in the following cities: 

London 23-25 September at Sotheby’s New Bond Street 

Hong Kong 3-5 October at Sotheby’s Maison 

New York 9-10 October at Sotheby’s on York Avenue 

Singapore 18-19 October at the Conrad Singapore Orchard Hotel 

Taipei 21-22 October at the Hua Nan Bank International Convention Centre 

Dubai 28-30 October at Sotheby’s Dubai