Who owns Marie Antoinette's bracelets?

Two diamond bracelets once owned by the queen of France, Marie Antoinette, have sold at auction in Switzerland for more than $8m(£5.8m). They were bought by an anonymous telephone bidder. Marie Antoinette sent the jewellery away for safekeeping before she was guillotined during the French revolution.

Who bought the Marie Antoinette bracelets?

The queen bought the bracelets in 1776, just two years after taking the throne with her husband King Louis XVI, according to Christie's. With the French Revolution in full swing, Antoinette sent a trunk to the ambassador of the Austrian Empire for safekeeping in 1791.

How much did Marie Antoinette bracelets sell for?

The public's obsession with Marie Antoinette continues almost 250 years after her death. On Tuesday, two of the French Queen's diamond bracelets sold for $8.2 million at Christie's, far surpassing the auction house's original estimate of $2 to $4 million.

Who owns Marie Antoinette diamonds?

The insignia was originally owned by Charles X, Marie Antoinette's brother-in-law. The diamonds later passed to Robert I, Duke of Parma (1848-1907). The frame of Charles X's order, which originally held the diamonds, has remained in the family and will also be offered in November. The estimate is $150-$300.

How much did Marie Antoinette diamonds sell for?

A pair of diamond bracelets that belonged to Queen of France Marie Antoinette have sold at auction for $8.18 million (£6.03 million). The final price is several times the pre-sale estimate of between $2 million (£1.46 million) and $4 million (£2.92 million).

Historic Marie-Antoinette Diamonds | Christie's

What happened to Marie antoinettes jewelry?

In January 1791, while Marie Antoinette was imprisoned in the Tuileries Palace in Paris, she secretly wrapped her finest jewels in cotton and stashed them away in a wooden chest.

Where are Marie Antoinette's jewels?

Over the last several decades the organization has bought jewels that belonged to key members of the French nobility and gifted them to the museum. PIN IT A view of the Louvre's Galerie d'Apollo where the jewels which once belonged to French nobility are on display.

How much is the Marie Antoinette earrings worth?

Made of 647 stones weighing nearly 2,800 carats, it was the most expensive in the world, valued at 1.6 million francs (£35 million today). It had been designed by Louis XV's court jeweller for the old king's mistress, Madame du Barry.

Where are the French crown jewels today?

The surviving French Crown Jewels, principally a set of historic crowns, diadems and parures, are mainly on display in the Galerie d'Apollon of the Louvre, France's premier museum and former royal palace, together with the Regent Diamond, the Sancy Diamond and the 105-carat (21.0 g) Côte-de-Bretagne red spinel, carved ...

What was Marie Antoinette accused of?

In July 1793, she lost custody of her young son, who was forced to accuse her of sexual abuse and incest before a Revolutionary tribunal. In October, she was convicted of treason and sent to the guillotine. She was 37 years old.

What happened to Marie Antoinette's head?

Lamballe refused to take an oath against the monarchy, and on September 3, 1792, she was delivered to the hands of a Parisian mob; they cut off her head and paraded it on a pike outside Marie-Antoinette's windows.

What was Marie Antoinette's last words?

Found guilty, she was condemned to death and was guillotined on 16 October 1793. Her last words, after accidentally stepping on the foot of her executioner, were "Pardon, monsieur. I did not do it on purpose" (Fraser, 440). The legacy of Marie Antoinette is of a tragic figure, a victim of her time and circumstance.

What happened to Marie Antoinette's clothing?

Yet, as a symbolic act of shedding her Austrian ways in favor of embracing all things French, the young princess was made to remove this fine gown. Marie Antoinette was stripped down to her underwear, and re-dressed in French fashion, a change which was described as making her “a thousand times more charming”.

How much does Marie Antoinette's pearl pendant cost?

A pearl and diamond pendant that belonged to ill-fated French Queen Marie Antoinette has been sold for $36m (£28m) in what Sotheby's auction house says is a world record for a pearl. The star lot at Sotheby's Geneva show was bought after a fierce bidding war.

Do diamond tennis bracelets hold value?

Diamond tennis bracelets hold as much value as any other diamond jewelry: Unless it is a very special bracelet, it will be valued based on the quality and carat weight of the diamonds, and the karat and weight of gold at today's price. Expect to get 30 to 60% of today's retail value for your tennis bracelet.

How can you tell that a diamond is real?

Lay the stone onto the dot with the flat side down. Through the pointed end of the diamond, look down onto the paper. If you see a circular reflection inside the gemstone, the stone is fake. If you cannot see the dot or a reflection in the stone, then the diamond is real.

Can you wear a diamond tennis bracelet everyday?

The bracelet is made to be flexible so you can wear it every day. When you accessorise for it, focus on other diamond accessories that you can wear every day. Be able to hike with them, or go out with them, or play a tennis match.

Who Stole Marie Antoinette's necklace?

The 'diamond necklace affair' was a scandal following the theft of France's most valuable piece of jewellery. The diamond necklace was stolen in 1785 as part of a confidence trick involving Catholic cardinal Louis de Rohan and other figures. Those involved used the name of Marie Antoinette to facilitate the swindle.

Did Marie Antoinette have a wedding ring?

Two days before the wedding, the King's Master of Ceremonies gave Antoinette twelve wedding rings. She tried on each one until she found one that fit her finger.

Are there any French royalty still alive?

France is a Republic, and there's no current royal family recognized by the French state. Still, there are thousands of French citizens who have titles and can trace their lineage back to the French Royal Family and nobility.

Are there any descendants of Marie Antoinette?

Should that ever happen, however, none of the future royals would be a direct descendant of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, as none of their children produced an heir.

How old was Louis XVI when he married Marie Antoinette?

On 16 May 1770, at the age of fifteen, Louis-Auguste married the fourteen-year-old Habsburg Archduchess Maria Antonia (better known by the French form of her name, Marie Antoinette), his second cousin once removed and the youngest daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and his wife, the Empress Maria Theresa.