GENEVA | A massive, drop-shaped natural pearl pendant sold for $32 million at an auction of jewelry that once belonged to French Queen Marie Antoinette, which Sotheby’s is calling a record price for a pearl at auction.
The “Queen Marie Antoinette’s Pearl,” a diamond-and-pearl pendant, was among the highlight offerings on the block at the Sotheby’s sale of jewelry from the Bourbon-Parma dynasty.
Like many of the 10 former Marie Antoinette pieces up for sale on Wednesday, the pendant obliterated the pre-auction — in its case, $1 million to $2 million.
The total tally was expected to rise with the inclusion of the “buyer’s premium” and other fees.
Sotheby’s billed the sale as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to scoop up heirlooms and jewels that have been held in the Bourbon-Parma dynasty for generations. Some of the Marie Antoinette jewelry hadn’t been seen in public for 200 years — until now.
