Seven bidders competed for seven minutes to own this circa 1779-1789 necklace featuring approximately 300 carats of diamonds. The winning bidder ultimately paid $4.8 million for the piece, which has been described as a “sublime survivor” of the Georgian era.
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The necklace is known as a négligée and can be worn looped over into a simple knot, as shown in the first picture, or draped over the neck, with one side sitting higher than the other, as shown here.
Geneva—After a seven-minute back-and-forth, a woman bidding over the phone won the battle for a négligée-style diamond necklace that is more than 200 years old.
The necklace, the crown jewel of Sotheby’s “Royal and Noble Jewels” sale held Wednesday in Geneva, sold for $4.8 million to the woman, identified only as an “international private collector.”
Its pre-sale estimate was $1.8 million to $2.8 million.
The necklace, which contains more than 500 collet-set old cushion-shaped and circular-cut diamonds, was made sometime in the decade before the French Revolution—so, between the years 1779 and 1789—Sotheby’s has estimated.
The exact origin of the diamonds, which total more than 300 carats, is unknown.
They are believed to be Golconda diamonds from the famed mines in India of the same name.
They also could be diamonds from the “Affair of the Necklace” necklace, the piece that caused a scandal and further damaged Marie-Antoinette’s reputation and the standing of the French monarchy in the eyes of the public.
The famed “Affair” necklace was broken up and sold in London, and its diamonds would have been on the market around the time this approximately 300-carat necklace was made, likely for royalty or a high-ranking aristocrat of either the French or English court.
What is known about this piece, Sotheby’s said, is that it once belonged to the Marquesses of Anglesey, an aristocratic family with close ties to the British Royal family in the early 20th century.
The diamond necklace has been worn to at least two British coronations.
Marjorie Paget, Marchioness of Anglesey, donned the piece for the coronation of King George VI in 1937, pairing it with the Anglesey tiara.
Marjorie Paget, the Marchioness of Anglesey, in her coronation robes and diamond jewelry at the coronation of King George VI, photographed by Cecil Beaton in 1937 (Photo courtesy of Condé Nast Archive)
Less than two decades later, in 1953, her daughter-in-law, the seventh Marquess of Anglesey, wore the same suite of jewels to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
Sotheby’s said the seventh Marquess of Anglesey parted with the piece sometime in the 1960s.
It went on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York in 1976 as part of the museum’s Bicentennial Exhibition before being acquired by a private collector in Asia, who has owned it until now.
When Sotheby’s announced earlier this fall that it would be offering the 18th-century necklace at auction, it marked the first time the piece had been seen in public in 50 years.
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Sotheby’s “Royal and Noble Jewels” auction was a “white-glove sale,” meaning all the lots were sold, and 83 percent of the lots exceeded their high estimates.
The auction house held the sale in conjunction with “Magnificent Jewels” Wednesday in Geneva, with both sales totaling $30.7 million.
Sotheby’s said this “Royal and Noble Jewels” sale was the first in the auction category to include lots from various owners.
More details about the results of that sale will be covered in a separate article.
“The extraordinary results of today’s sale represent Sotheby’s ‘Royal and Noble Jewels’ sales at their apex. With yet another white-glove auction, these sales demonstrate the lasting power of provenance,” said Andres White Correal, Sotheby’s chairman of jewelry in Europe and the Middle East and head of Noble Jewels.
He continued, “Meticulously collected over generations, ‘A Tsar’s Treasure’ provided an intimate glimpse into one of Central Europe’s most important royal families, and one of the greatest jewelry collectors of the 19th and 20th centuries.
“While there were innumerable results worth celebrating, as a career highlight, the Anglesey jewel stands sans pareil. From the moment we laid eyes on it, our entire team was transfixed by its beauty, its history, and its timelessness. The electricity in the sales room was palpable, and it will be one of my fondest memories to have been on the phone, helping to find its new home.”
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