A Marie Antoinette Pendant Sold For $36 Million, Much More Than Pre-Sale Estimates

ByJoseph Gibsonon November 23, 2018inArticles›How Much Does

AFP is reporting that a pendant that was owned by French history’s famous queen Marie Antoinette, before she was beheaded during the French Revolution, has sold for many times more than its initial pre-sale estimates predicted. The pendant, which was estimated to be worth around $2 million, actually sold for an incredible $36 million at a recent Sotheby’s auction in Geneva .

An anonymous buyer got swept up in the excitement and lost his or her head in bidding on the pendant, but unlike its former owner this was only in the metaphorical sense. That excitement led to a host of Antoinette’s jewelry blowing away their pre-sale estimates, like a diamond brooch thought to be worth just $80,000 going for $1.75 million. Altogether, the ten items in the Marie Antoinette jewelry collection went for a combined $43 million, compared to their pre-sale estimated value of only about $3 million.

A Marie Antoinette Pendant Sold For $36 Million, Much More Than Pre - 1

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Eddie LeVian, chief executive of jewelers Le Vian, explains in a press statement the obvious truth that the massive prices paid for these jewels were for much more than the jewels themselves:

“Marie Antoinette’s pendant is simply irreplaceable and the price it fetched is about far more than the gem itself … It captures everyone’s imagination … This is the ultimate proof, if it were needed, that the world’s ultra high net worth individuals love rare, natural fancy coloured diamond and pearls jewels as investments, and especially those with royal provenance.”

The $36 million pearl and diamond pendant was the clear highlight of the collection, making up $34 million worth of the collection’s unexpected $40 million windfall. Hopefully for its new owner, they will get to enjoy it more than Marie Antoinette was able to.

The Marie Antoinette jewelry collection was itself the highlight of a huge collection of royal jewels from the Italian House of Bourbon-Parma being auctioned by Sotheby’s. Altogether, the auction house sold off a total of 100 jewels with royal histories, and the lots got a combined total of $53.1 million compared to their total pre-sale estimate of $4.2 million, completing the auction’s overall trend of far surpassing expectations.

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Sylvester Stallone Is Putting His $6 Million Watch Collection Up For Auction Next Month

ByJoseph Gibsonon May 20, 2024inArticles›Celebrity News

One of the most notable watch collectors in the world is film star Sylvester Stallone , who has been a star in the watch world as well for much of his career. Now, Stallone and the Sotheby’s auction house are bringing his one-of-a-kind collection of timepieces to the auction block next month, and together, they’re estimated to be worth some $6 million.

That’s an especially high sum when you realize that the part of his collection that Stallone is parting with is only made up of 11 watches all in all. The crown jewel of the collection is undoubtedly Stallone’s Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime, one of the rarest and most expensive watches ever made. Another Grandmaster Chime set the record for the most expensive watch of all time when it sold for $31 million, and Stallone’s own Chime cost $2.5 million. Analysts reportedly expect the watch to sell for somewhere between that sum and $5 million at the auction, but Stallone’s celebrity, as well as the rarity of a Grandmaster Chime being on the auction block in the first place (this will be the first time such a piece has been up for commercial, non-charitable bidding), could push the price significantly higher.

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This is a watch so rare and so valuable that Stallone has never even taken it out of its box, let alone put it on. He speaks extensively on the Grandmaster Chime as well as the other watches in his collection in a video on the Sotheby’s YouTube channel:

“The one thing that is pervasive throughout all these watches is that they attract me emotionally. It’s not about keeping time, it’s about keeping in step with where you are in life,” Stallone told Sotheby’s. In addition to the Grandmaster Chime, Stallone is also selling two other Patek Philippe pieces: a Nautilus reference 5711/1300A-001 from 2021 said to be worth anywhere from $200,000 to $400,000, and another Nautilus worth a mere $50,000-$100,000.

Stallone is also letting go of four watches from Panerai, a brand he has been enthusiastic about not just collecting but promoting in public and even in his movies. The Panerai Reference PAM00382 Luminor Submersible 1950 going up for auction was featured in “The Expendables 2,” and the winning bidder will also receive a signed poster for the movie. Budget-conscious watch collectors may be interested in Stallone’s gold Piaget Polo Grande, the cheapest watch in the collection, with an estimated value range between $6,000 and $12,000.

The auction is set to commence on June 5th, 2024.

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