Iconic Gemstone Necklaces Throughout The Ages

• Napoleon & The Diamond Necklace – Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, Marie Louise gave birth to a son in 1811 and the general presented her with a stunning diamond necklace. This amazing piece contained a total of 234 colourless diamonds weighing more than 260 carats and after Napoleon was exiled in 1814, his wife went back home to Austria and upon her death, the necklace became the property of her sister-in-law, Archduchess Sophie of Austria. She died in 1872 and she left the necklace to one of her sons. When he passed away, the necklace belonged to this third wife, Maria Theresa, who, in 1929, tried to sell the necklace at a New York Auction for $450,000, but this was at a bad time, the Wall Street crash of 1929 made it almost impossible to sell such a luxury item. Finally, a buyer was found and the price paid was a mere $60,000, of which Marie Theresa received just over $7,000; she was obviously upset and through the courts she eventually had the necklace returned. It then changed hands several times before Mrs. Marjorie Post, the richest woman in America, donated the necklace to the Smithsonian Institute, where it remains to this day.

• Marie Antoinette & The Diamond Necklace – One of the most gripping sagas ever seen in European courts of royalty involved Marie Antoinette and a diamond necklace that was commissioned for her husband, King Louis XV’s mistress. The necklace was created by the French court jewellers Boehmer and Bassenge and when the King died and the mistress was banished from the court, they sought to seek payment from Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. It is said that she was reluctant to purchase the piece, as it was made for another woman and her refusal led to the necklace being taken to England, where the large diamonds were removed and sold off individually. If you would like to view stunning antique diamond necklaces from the 18th and 19th centuries, antique dealers with a great reputation have authentic antique jewellery for sale in Sydney as well as in any other cities around the world.
• Wallis Simpson’s Tassel Necklace – Most people are captivated by the royal love relationship when King Edward VIII abdicated rather than lose his commoner lover and he commissioned a tassel necklace, bracelet and brooch by top jewellery makers Van Cleef and Arpels. They stayed together for 35 years, during which time Edward presented Wallis with many exquisite jewellery pieces, including the famous panther bracelet, made by Cartier.

There are far too many fine examples of hi-end necklaces to list here, and we thought the above came with a very interesting history and were therefore worthy of a mention. Don’t forget that you too can own stunning antique jewelry, all you have to do is browse the online antique dealer’s website and see if you can find something perfect.