This photo taken in Geneva shows two bracelets belonging to Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, decorated with three rows of 112 old-cut diamonds.
- The diamond bracelet of Queen Marie-Antoinette of France will go on sale in November.
- The estimated value of these jewels is between US$2 million and US$4 million.
- They can be traced directly to the queen who was killed in 1793.
The auction house Christie’s said on Wednesday that two exquisite diamond bracelets from Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France, will be auctioned in Geneva later this year.
Each of these bracelets is set with 112 diamonds and will be sold together, with an estimated price of between US$2 million and US$4 million at auction on November 9.
Christie’s jewelry expert Marie-Cecile Cisamolo said that this estimate “not only includes the intrinsic value of the diamond, but also the possibility of wearing the jewelry that the famous queen Marie-Antoinette once wore.”
Read | Struggling Petra Diamonds sells 5 ultra-rare blue diamonds
At the same time, these long-established jewels can easily be sold at prices much higher than the asking price.
Francois Curiel, chairman of Christie’s luxury goods division, said in a statement: “It can be seen from the recent Geneva auction that the noble provenance jewelry market continues to perform well.”
Big diamond
In 2018, a natural pearl and diamond pendant belonging to the ill-fated French queen was valued at US$1 million to US$2 million by Sotheby’s auction house, but it was sold out at a price of US$36 million.
In October 1793, 37-year-old Marie-Antoinette was the last queen before the French Revolution. She was guillotined in Paris in October 1793.
But Cisamolo said that it’s not just their history that makes the bracelet extraordinary. He pointed out that the diamonds are large in size, ranging from one carat to four carats.
“It is difficult to measure their exact size because these are antique diamonds, and the size was not very precise at the time,” she explained.
Although lacking the precision of today’s laser-cut gemstones, Cisamolo emphasizes the charm and uniqueness of antique diamonds.
Christie’s estimates the total weight of the bracelet is 140 to 150 carats.
They each consist of three rows of gems, which can be joined together and worn as necklaces.
According to Christie’s, Marie Antoinette ordered these bracelets from the jeweler Charles August Boehmer two years after she took the throne in Paris in 1776.
Christie said that she paid 250,000 livres, which was “a huge sum of money at the time.”
Then the revolution came.
Before attempting to flee France with King Louis XVI and his children, Marie-Antoinette first made sure that her jewelry was shipped out of the country.
They were sent to Brussels to be ruled by her sister Marie-Christine, then to Austria, the home of the Queen of France, to be ruled by her nephew, the Emperor.
In 1792, the royal family was imprisoned in Paris. The following year, the king and queen were executed, and their 10-year-old son Louis XVII died in captivity.
Only their daughter, Marie Theresa of France survived. She was released in December 1795 and sent to Austria, where she obtained her mother’s jewelry.
“So these jewels can be traced all the way to Marie-Antoinette,” Cisamoro said, adding that she hopes those who buy them “will cherish them for life.”
“You are not only wearing the clothes Marie-Antoinette wore,” she said. “Diamonds are extraordinary.”
The bracelet, she said, flaunted the glittering gems on her wrist, “flowing. It’s like you are wearing fabric.”
Don’t miss a story. Choose from our newsletter Send the news you want directly to your inbox.
