# A necklace believed to contain jewels from the infamous Marie Antoinette Affair of the Diamond Necklace has been sold for more than 85-million-rand. This entails a scandal which paved the way for Marie Antoinette’s eventual downfall. It erupted when a hard-up noblewoman, Jeanne de la Motte, pretended to be the French queen and tricked a cardinal into giving her the necklace. Marie Antoinette was acquitted of having a hand in the scam, but her reputation never recovered. The Georgian-era piece hadn’t been seen in public for 50 years before now.
Diamond necklace linked to Marie Antoinette’s downfall sells for more than R85-million