An 18th Century diamond necklace that was
believed to be made for the Russian empress Catherine was sold in Geneva
this past Thursday for 1.5 million dollars (1.3 euros). The auction house was
very full but the executive director wasn’t surprised that it was sold under it’s
estimated amount. In total, over 340 lots were sold for 35.8 million francs
($27.0 million; euro23.1 million) during the daylong auction. The most
expensive of the jewels — a pink diamond ring — sold for 5.17 million francs
($3.90 million; euro3.34 million). The article stated this about the history of
the necklace:
“Catherine II, or "the Great," was one of 18th century Europe’s
enlightened despots, known as much for her correspondence with French
philosophers Diderot and Voltaire as for the reforms she introduced into
Russian society and government. The self-described "philosopher on the
throne" ruled as Russia’s empress between 1762 and 1796.
The
necklace, which holds 27 large cushion-shaped diamonds, is believed to have
been made for Catherine during the beginning of her reign and was housed in the
Russian state diamond fund in St. Petersburg until 1917. It includes a matching bow clasp.”
A lot of people think it is remarkable that this piece of jewelry survived the 1800s because most of the jewelry was broken to make new jewelry in the latest fashions.
