Connect
To Top

Sotheby’s Set To Auction Marie Antoinette’s Jewels In November

Million-Dollar Collection

Anyone who wishes to own a piece of jewelry once worn by a queen now has the chance to bring that wish to reality as a set of selected pieces belonging to, Marie Antoinette, France’s last queen before the Revolution will reportedly be auctioned next month.

The jewels in this collection include a pendant made of diamond and also pearl and is estimated to be worth between a million dollars to two million dollars, a necklace of pearl and also diamond estimated to be worth around two hundred thousand dollars to three hundred thousand dollars. It also includes a diamond brooch estimated to be worth between fifty thousand dollars to eighty thousand dollars. The collection also includes a diamond ring that contains a lock of Queen Antoinette’s hair. The ring is estimated to worth between twenty thousand dollars to fifty thousand dollars.

The jewels in this collection include a pendant made of diamond as well as pearl and is estimated to be worth about a million dollars to two million dollars and a necklace of pearl as well as diamond estimated to be worth around two hundred thousand dollars to three hundred thousand dollars.

Before the jewelry goes up for auction, it would first be moved around on a tour (which has already begun) where the general public would get the chance to view the collection.

It is important to mention that the jewelry before this tour has never been put out in the public for anyone to see. It belongs to a much bigger auction collection made up of other pieces owned by one of the most notable dynastic families in Europe, the Bourbon-Parma family. This family has links with French royal house as they share ties with Queen Antoinette and Louis XVI. They also have links with dukes of Parma, emperors of Austria and kings of Spain.

The dealer handling the auction, Sotheby’s, reportedly refers to the collection as being one of the very significant collections of royal jewelry that would ever be put up for auction.

At the moment, the collection is being exhibited in New York. Earlier in the month, it was up for exhibition in Dubai. After its New York exhibition, sources claim that it will be showcased in London, Taipei and also Singapore. On the 14th of November, it will be auctioned out in Geneva.

History Of The Collection

Sources report that as the French Revolution was impending, the king, Louis XVI together with his wife, Queen Antoinette planned how they would escape from the nation. Sometime in 1791, which was some months before she was arrested, she put some pieces of her rubies, pearls, and diamonds inside a chest made of wood. Through Brussels, the collection got to Vienna and was kept with Florimond Claude, Comte de Mercy Argenteau who was a diplomat as well as the Queen’s loyal retainer.

Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI remained in prison and were executed in 1973. Their ten-year-old son died while he was in captivity a little while after his parents’ death.

Sotheby’s explained that their last child, Marie-Thérèse, who is also called Madame Royale, secured a release in 1795 after spending 3 years in solitary confinement. She later arrived in Vienna in the year 1796 and reclaimed the jewels that belonged to her mother which had prior to that time been kept in the care of the then Austrian emperor. The emperor happened to be her cousin.

Reports have it that all pieces in the collection have managed to remain in the royal family for more than two hundred years and this tour marks the first time any member of the general public would see the jewels. According to Sotheby’s Jewelry Europe’s Deputy Chairman, Daniela Mascetti, each piece of the jewel has an absolutely imbued history. Mascetti referred to the collection of jewels as extraordinary and added that they offer a deeper perception about the lives of the owners who lived several years back.

According to Sotheby’s, Marie Antoinette is widely known for being extravagant and for her court’s lavishness and splendor and the queen was often seen wearing pearls.

 

More in Luxury

You must be logged in to post a comment Login