Two splendid bracelets that belonged to the Queen of France Marie-Antoinette, both covered with a hundred diamonds, will be auctioned for the first time by Christie's on November 9 in Geneva.
“These diamonds are extraordinary not only for their origin but also for what they are made of: 112 old cut diamonds.
Their size ranges from around one carat for the smallest to over four carats for the large diamonds in the middle, ”Marie-Cécile Cisamolo, jewelry specialist at Christie's, told AFP.
The two bracelets placed in a delicate blue box will be sold in the same lot.
“They are estimated between 2 and 4 million dollars (1.8 and 3.7 million euros), a price including not only the intrinsic value of the diamonds but also the possibility of having in hand jewelry that has been ordered. by the famous Queen Marie-Antoinette ”, noted the expert.
The auction house estimates that there are a total of between 140 and 150 carats of diamonds on the bracelets.
FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP
These historic jewels, however, could pulverize the estimates.
In 2018, a diamond pendant that also belonged to Marie-Antoinette, adorned with a natural pearl of exceptional size, was auctioned by Sotheby's in Geneva for 36 million dollars, while it had been valued between 1 and 2 millions of dollars.
Each of the two bracelets sold by Christie's is made up of three rows of diamonds.
The two bracelets can also be assembled to be worn as a necklace.
"It is very difficult to measure their exact size because they are old cut diamonds, and at the time the cuts were coarser" whereas today the diamonds are laser cut, explained Ms. Cisamolo, by emphasizing the charm of these ancient diamonds, each piece of which is unique.
The auction house estimates that there are a total of between 140 and 150 carats of diamonds on the bracelets.
Paris, Brussels and Vienna
According to Christie's, the bracelets were ordered from the jeweler Charles Auguste Boehmer in Paris in 1776 by Marie-Antoinette, who had become Queen of France two years earlier.
“The total price of these bracelets was 250,000 pounds, which was a lot of money for the time.
They were paid with (precious) stones and also thanks to a deposit paid by King Louis XVI to the Queen ”, recounted Ms. Cisamolo.
Then came the French Revolution.
If Marie-Antoinette was guillotined, her jewelry survived.
Before attempting to flee France with Louis XVI and his children, Marie-Antoinette had sent her jewels to Brussels, from where they were then passed on to relatives in Austria, the queen's original homeland.
Arrested in Varennes, Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were guillotined in 1793 and their son Louis XVII died in captivity. The only survivor of the French Revolution, their daughter, Marie-Thérèse of France, was released in 1795. On her arrival in Vienna, the Emperor of Austria gave her her mother's jewels, which were carefully preserved. Having no children, Marie-Thérèse of France, nicknamed "Madame Royale", in turn passed the bracelets on to her niece, the Duchess of Parma.
“These jewels can therefore be traced back to Marie-Antoinette.
This is the first time that we see them in a public sale and I hope that the person who will buy them will cherish them throughout his life ", underlined Mrs. Cisamolo, hoping that these bracelets, which represent" a part of the History ”of France and Europe, are not dismantled by the future purchaser.
“Not only are the diamonds extraordinary, not only do we tell ourselves that Marie-Antoinette had them on her wrists at one point, but it's also done in a way ... it flows, it's like wearing fabric », She slips, moved to wear these royal jewels.
