Jewels of French queen Marie Antoinette on display
Precious jewellery worth over 鈧�3m belonging to the last queen of France, Marie-Antoinette, is to be on public display in London ahead of being sold at auction in Geneva on November 14.
The jewellery - now at auction house Sotheby鈥檚 - has not been on public display for two centuries.
Pieces include a jewel-encrusted crown, a large pearl necklace, pearl earrings, three rings, and a diamond brooch.
After the London exhibition, the collection will be sold at auction, with the necklace alone estimated to go for between 1 million to 2 million US dollars (鈧�868,550 - 鈧�1.7m).
One of the rings is monogrammed with the initials 鈥淢A鈥� in rose diamonds, and contains a piece of the queen鈥檚 own hair; while another is monogrammed with 鈥淢D鈥�, for 鈥淢onseigneur le Dauphin鈥� - the father of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette鈥檚 father-in-law.
Another ring is decorated with a miniature of the queen herself, surrounded by diamonds.
843 Likes, 28 Comments - Benoit Repellin (@benoit.repellin) on Instagram: "225 years ago, on 16 October 1793, Queen Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, n茅e Archduchess of..."
Benoit Repellin, jewellery specialist at Sotheby鈥檚, : 鈥淏efore [the royal family] escaped to Varennes [during the French Revolution], Marie Antoinette wrapped up her jewellery, her pearls and her diamonds, and sent them to her sister in Brussels, in the hope that they would then be sent to the Imperial Palace in Vienna.鈥�
He : 鈥淚t鈥檚 very rare to see such important jewels from the most famous French queen in the world coming up at auction. It鈥檚 a very rare occasion to have chance to buy one of them.鈥�
