Origin of Name
The name refers to a magnificent single-strand pearl
necklace, with a great historic significance, composed of forty
four graduated pearls, that once belonged to Marie Antoinette, the queen
consort of King Louis XVI, the monarch of France, who together with his
wife were guillotined to death during the tumultuous days of the
French Revolution from 1789 to 1793. The necklace eventually came into
the possession of Barbara Hutton, the granddaughter of Woolworth
department store magnate, who was the heiress to an immense fortune left
behind by her grandparents and mother, and became one of the richest
women in the world. Barbara Hutton is reported to have worn the pearl
necklace on the occasion of her wedding to her first husband, the
Russian Prince Alexis Mdivani in 1933. A great collector and
connoisseur of jewelry, Barbara Hutton had over the years acquired a
magnificent collection of jewels and jewelry, that included elaborate
historic pieces that had one belonged reputed historical figures like
Marie Antoinette and Empress Eugenie of France.
Characteristics of
the pearl necklace
The magnificent necklace is composed of 44 graduated
natural pearls, varying in size from about 8.7 mm to 16.3 mm, and having
a total weight of 1,816.68 grains. The pearls are white and nacreous,
having perfectly spherical shapes, and a brilliant luster and
orient characteristic of natural saltwater pearls. The two largest
pearls in the necklace, that form the centerpiece, occupy the 22nd and
23rd position from one end of the necklace. The size of the pearls
decrease gradually from these central pearls, towards both ends, pearls
of identical size occupying symmetrical positions. The clasp of the
pearl seems to be occupied by a rectangular-shaped, cabochon-cut
turquoise, surrounded by a single row of 16 small diamonds.
Barbara Hutton Pearl Necklace
The Clasp of the Barbara Hutton Pearl Necklace
History of the pearl
necklace
The early history of
the necklace
The single strand pearl necklace was reported to have
been owned by Marie Antoinette, Princess of Hungary and Bohemia,
Archduchess of Austria, and later, after her husband King Louis XVI
ascended the throne of France in 1774, the Queen of France. Marie
Antoinette is believed to have inherited the necklace from Anne of
Austria (1601-1666), wife and queen consort of King Louis XIII (1601
-1643), King of France and Navarre. On the death of her husband, Anne of
Austria was the regent to her son, Louis XIV, who succeeded her husband.
Her regency lasted from 1643 to 1651, during which period Cardinal Mazarin served as France's chief minister. From Anne of Austria, the
pearl necklace would have been inherited by her daughter-in-law, Maria
Theresa of Spain (1638-1683), wife and queen consort of King Louis XIV
(1638-1715). The necklace would then have passed down to the queen
consort of Louis XV (1710-1774) Maria Leszczynska (1703-1768) of Poland,
from whom it was inherited by Marie Antoinette, the wife and queen
consort of Louis XVI (1754-1793). Thus the Marie Antoinette pearl
necklace had remained as part of the crown jewels of France since the
tenure of Anne of Austria as the Queen of France from 1615 to 1643, or
the time of her regency from 1643 to 1651.
Anne of Austria, Queen consort to Louis XIII of France
Marie Antoinette, Queen consort of Louis XVI
The possible source
of the pearls
The necklace being of 17th century origin, the
possible sources of the pearls are the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the
Gulf of Mannar, between India and Sri Lanka, the traditional source of
natural pearls, and the hub of the pearl industry since very ancient
times. Apart from these ancient sources, countries in the New World,
like Venezuela, Colombia and Panama also became suppliers of pearls to
the world pearl markets, after the discovery of pearls in Venezuela by
Christopher Columbus in 1498, during his 3rd voyage. However, by the
mid-17th century, just 150 years after the discovery of pearls in the
New World, all pearl resources were totally exhausted due to intensive
harvesting by the Spanish colonizers. Yet, the pearls of the Marie
Antoinette pearl necklace could still have come from sources in the New
World, as the necklace is of mid-17th century origin, around the time
pearls were becoming scarce in the region. After the
depletion of the pearl oyster resources of the New World, the Asian
region once again regained its pre-eminence as the primary source of natural
pearls in the world.
Possible ways in
which the Marie Antoinette Pearl Necklace came into the possession of
Barbara Hutton
There were several ways in which the Marie Antoinette
Pearl Necklace would have reached the United States from Europe and
eventually purchased by Barbara Hutton, millionaire heiress of the
successful Woolworth department stores chain.
The pearl necklace
was given as a gift or for safe keeping by Marie Antoinette prior to her
incarceration
One possible way was that Marie Antoinette herself
would have given the necklace to a close friend or relative either as a
gift or for safe keeping prior to her incarceration with her family on
August 13. 1792. The necklace would have remained with the families of
the friend or relative, until the tumultuous days of the revolution was
over and normalcy returned to France, and was eventually taken out of
France and sold in one of the other jewelry markets of Europe, such as
London, Amsterdam, Geneva etc. from where it eventually reached the
United States.
The pearl necklace
was stolen during the break-in at the Garde Meuble on September 16,
1792, at the height of the French revolution
A second possible way the necklace would have left
France, was during the height of the revolution, when thieves that
included notorious criminals like Guillot and Depeyron, in connivance
with some of the commissioners of the Garde Meuble (public treasury)
that housed the crown jewels of France, broke into its buildings on
September 16, 1792, and stole valuable items of jewels and jewelry,
contained in eleven sealed cabinets in the treasury. The items included
some of the most renowned diamonds such as the French Blue diamond (Hope
diamond), the Regent diamond, the Sancy diamond, and the Hortensia
diamond. The Marie Antoinette pearl necklace was also possibly among the
haul. Guillot escaped to London with part of the haul where he disposed
of some of the jewels, and eventually ended up in prison. Some of the
diamonds, which included the Regent and the Hortensia were recovered
from an attic in a house in Paris, after information provided by
Depeyron just before his execution.
The pearl necklace
remained in tact as part of French crown jewels until it was disposed
of, at the 1887 public auction together with other crown jewels
The third possible way in which the necklace left
France, was that it remained safe in the Garde Meuble during the
revolution, and was later inherited by Napoleon I (1804-14), the self
proclaimed emperor of France, and after his downfall by Louis XVIII
(1814-24) and Charles X (1824-30) of the restored Bourbon monarchy, by
Louis Philippe (1830-48) of the lesser branch of the Bourbons, and
finally by Napoleon III (1948-71), the last emperor or monarch of
France, before the declaration of the 3rd Republic in 1871, in the
immediate aftermath of the disastrous Franco-German war of 1870/71.
After the display of the French crown jewels at the 1878 International
Paris Exhibition, and later at the Louvre Museum in 1884, the National
Assembly of the third republic decided to get rid of all decadent royal
symbols, including the French crown jewels, in order to forestall any
future attempt by a monarch or a despot to restore the old order,
inspired by these decadent symbols of royal authority. Accordingly
President Francois Paul Jules Grevy, the first president of the 3rd
republic, ordered the sale of the French crown jewels by public auction,
between May12-27, 1887, except for pieces that might have cultural or
historic value. An auction catalogue was prepared by the Administration
of State Properties and circulated around the jewelry capitals of the
world. It was possible that the Marie Antoinette pearl necklace was one
of the items listed in the catalogue.
The auction was held on the appointed dates and drew
international attention, and was attended by jewelry firms of repute
like Tiffany's of New York, Van Cleef & Arpels, Paul Bapst, Frederic
Boucheron of Paris, and a host of other jewelers from other European
countries. Tiffany's of New York was the most successful bidder at the
auctions, purchasing 24 of the 69 lots that was put up for sale. The
total proceeds from the sale to the state coffers was around 6 million
gold francs. Tiffany's of New York, being the successful bidder at the
auctions, most of the crown jewels of France eventually ended up in the
collections of Natural History Museums across the United States or in
the collections of wealthy private individuals. It is not known whether
the Marie Antoinette pearl necklace was also one such piece that passed
through Tiffany's. It was also possible that the piece was not purchased
by Tiffany's, but by some other European jeweler, but later ended up in
one of the famous jewelry houses of the United States, patronized
by celebrities and the wealthy like Barbara Hutton. The only drawback in
this line of thinking of how the Marie Antoinette pearl necklace would
have reached the United States, is how the necklace would have escaped
the attention of Empress Eugenie de Montijo, who was a connoisseur and
collector of jewels, and would have undoubtedly recast the pearls in this
simple necklace, in a more elaborate setting, as she did with most other
pearl jewelry, and other types of jewelry in the collection.
The Marie Antoinette
Pearl Necklace is acquired by Woolworth Department Store heiress Barbara
Hutton
Barbara Hutton was the only heiress to an immense
fortune left behind by her mother Edna Woolworth (1883-1918), and her
grandfather Frank W. Woolworth, the founder of the successful chain of
Woolworth department stores. She inherited around $50 million from her
mothers estate on her 21st birthday in 1933, making her one of the
richest women in the world. It was in the same year that she got married
to her first husband Alexis Mdivani, a Georgian prince. It was in
anticipation of this wedding she purchased the historic Marie Antoinette
pearl necklace from Cartier's of New York, which she wore for the occasion, together with a
tortoise shell tiara studded with diamonds, bearing the Cartier
signature.
In spite of being one of the richest women in the
world, Barbara Hutton was never able to find much-needed solace and
happiness in her personal life, that led to her marrying seven times
during her lifetime, and earning the nickname "poor little rich girl"
after a song composed by Noel Howard that alluded to her life. She also
developed a passion for acquiring sumptuous jewelry during her life time
that included famous jewelry with a historic provenance once owned by
Queens and Empresses such as Catherine the Great, Empress Eugenie and
Marie Antoinette.
Some of the other
famous pieces of Jewelry acquired by Barbara Hutton
Among the other famous pieces of jewelry owned by
Barbara Hutton were the following :-
1) Catherine the Great's
emerald necklace - The most important historical necklace
owned by Barbara Hutton, that later came into the possession of Edith
Rockefeller McCormick. Barbara Hutton purchased the Romanov emeralds,
also known as the Vladimir emeralds,
from Cartier around 1935. She is reported to have given the emerald
necklace to her seventh husband, Prince Pierre Raymond Doan, whom she
married in 1964, and the necklace was probably disposed by him
after their separation. These emeralds were also used by Barbara Hutton
set on a tiara designed by Lucien Lachassagne and made by Cartier in
1947. A photograph of this tiara appears in Geoffrey Munn's book,
"Tiaras, A History of Splendor."
Barbara Hutton at a Masked Ball in Paris 1958, wearing
the Catherine the Great Emerald Necklace
2) Queen Amelie of
Portugal's ruby necklace - Barbara Hutton can be seen wearing
this magnificent ruby necklace in one of her best known portraits taken
by photographer George Hoyningen-Huene, in which she appears wearing an
Indian sari. At times she wore the same ruby necklace transformed into a
tiara, as she was seen wearing sometimes at her parties in Sidi Hosni,
her residence at Tangiers in Morocco.
Barbara Hutton wearing the Queen Amelie of Portugal
Ruby Necklace
3) A double-stranded pearl
necklace composed of large golden yellow cultured pearls,
which she purchased in Japan in 1959.
Barbara Hutton wearing the queen Amelie of Portugal
Ruby Necklace converted to a tiara and the double-stranded golden yellow
Japanese Pearl Necklace
4) A jade necklace
that came to be known as the "Mdivani Necklace" that was sold by
Christie's in Hong Kong in 1992.
5) The Pasha diamond
- A 55-carat white brilliant-cut diamond, that once belonged to
Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt. she
set the diamond in a ring.
Barbara Hutton wearing the Romanov Tiara and Pasha
Diamond Ring
Barbara Hutton/Marie
Antoinette Pearl Necklace comes up for auction in Geneva in May 1992
In May 1992, the Barbara Hutton/Marie Antoinette
pearl necklace came up for public auction for the first time, at
Christie's auction house in Geneva. The identity of the seller and buyer
of the necklace were withheld. The pre-sale estimate placed on the
necklace by the auction house was $250,000 to $350,000. However, the
price of $580,000 realized at the auctions for the necklace far exceeded
the expectations of the seller as well as the auction house, and
demonstrated an upward demand for genuine natural pearls of ancient
historic provenance, in a world dominated by cultured pearls of multiple
varieties and origins.
Barbara Hutton/Marie
Antoinette Pearl Necklace sets a world record at a Christies auction in
Geneva in November 1999
In November 1999, the single-strand Barbara
Hutton/Marie Antoinette pearl necklace came up for auction again at a
Christie's sale in Geneva. The identity of the owner of the necklace was
not revealed. The auction house placed a pre-sale estimate of $970,000
to $1,200,000 for the historic necklace. The auction was conducted by
Rahul Kadakia of Christie's, the experienced jewelry auctioneer, who
holds the hammer for all major sales in Geneva, Hong Kong, London and
New York, and was held on November 16, 1999. After a competitive bidding
process the hammer was brought down in favor of an anonymous buyer at
$1.47 million, far in excess of the pre-sale estimate, and a world
record price for a natural pearl necklace, ever realized at an auction.
The world record held
by Barbara Hutton/Marie Antoinette Pearl Necklace is broken by another
natural pearl necklace in November 2004
On November 18, 2004, another natural pearl necklace
of unknown provenance, consisting of two strands came up for auctions at
Christie's, Geneva. The double-strand pearl necklace contained 88
natural pearls ranging in size from 8.5 mm to 16.3 mm, and was strung
with a diamond clasp, with the engraving "Mtd. Cartier" meaning mounted
by Cartier. The auction house did not release any additional information
on the history and origin of the necklace. But, prospective bidders who
inspected the necklace before the auctions were convinced of its ancient
and historic provenance, based on the characteristics of similar pearl
necklaces of known historic provenance. The auctioneer for the sale was
Francois Curiel, director of Christie's International Jewelry
Department. As expected the bidding was competitive, and later Francois
Curiel himself said, "I have not felt such an atmosphere in the room
for many years" referring to the keen bidding for the necklace. The
hammer was brought down in favor of an anonymous buyer at the staggering
price of $3.1 million, which was more than double the previous world
record price for a natural pearl necklace, the Barbara Hutton/Marie
Antoinette pearl necklace that sold for $1.47 million in 1999.
The world record held
by the double-strand pearl necklace of unknown provenance is broken
again in December 2007 by a single-strand pearl necklace once owned by
Queen Mary and the Duchess of Windsor
The world record of $3.1 million held by the
double-strand pearl necklace of unknown provenance which was sold at a
Christie's auction in Geneva on November 18, 2004, was again broken on
December 4, 2007, at a Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels auction, at New
York, when a 14 inch single strand natural pearl necklace, made up of 28
natural pearls, graduating from 9.2 mm to 16.8 mm, and once owned by
Queen Mary of the United Kingdom and subsequently by the Duchess of
Windsor, was sold to an anonymous European collector for $3.6 million.
The pre-sale estimate paced on the necklace by Sotheby's was $1.5 to
$2.0 million. Thus the sale price went beyond the expectations of the
auctioneer by $1.6 million, a clear indication of the appreciating value
of natural pearls which are now very scarce, further enhanced by their
historic provenance.
Some of Barbara
Hutton's jewels auctioned at a Bonhams' Sale in Edinburgh in June 2002
In a news article published in the "New Scotsman, on
May 16, 2002, the imminent sale of a collection of jewelry that once
belonged to Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth heiress was announced. The
sale was to take place on June 14, 2002, as part of a Bonhams'
sale of fine silver and jewelry, at its George Street showrooms.
According to Bonhams' researcher Patricia Hess, the collection of
jewelry were being sold by the Edinburgh-based niece of a former
governess who, was under the employment of Mrs. Hutton, and looked after
her only child and son Lance, who was born to her second husband Count
Curt Haugwitz-Reventlow. It was reported that the jewels were actually a
gift by Barbara Hutton to the governess in recognition of her loyal
services to her. The governess was full of praise for Barbara Hutton for
her kindness and generosity and held her in great esteem during her life
time. The auction lot included a Van Cleef & Arpels sapphire and diamond
ear clips, a single strand pearl necklace with a 1.5-carat diamond
clasp, and a green jade Jabot Pin and pearl necklace worth a combined
£6,000. The auction was expected to realize around
£12,000.
Barbara Hutton - A Short Biography
Her unhappy childhood
that led to lifelong psychological problems
Born on November 14, 1912 in New York City, Barbara
Hutton was the only child of Edna Woolworth, the daughter of Woolworth
department store magnate, Frank W. Woolworth, and her husband Franklyn
Laws Hutton, a co-founder of E. F. Hutton & Co. a renowned New York
based investment banking and stock brokerage firm. Edward Francis
Hutton, her uncle was at one time, married to the cereal heiress
Marjorie Merriweather Post, and thus Barbara Hutton was a niece to the
cereal heiress by marriage. Young Barbara lost the love and affection of
her parents at the tender age of six, when her mother committed suicide,
possibly precipitated by the philandering habits of her husband.
Moreover it was young Barbara who discovered the body of her mother, a
tragic event that must have had a devastating effect on the child for
the rest of her life. Abandoned by her father, the young Barbara was
shunted between relatives who took care of her for short periods of
time, until she was finally raised by a governess. These tumultuous
events in her early life, had a serious psychological impact on the
child, becoming an introvert with limited interaction with other
children, and with a strong preference to remain isolated. This behavior
lasted for the rest of her life, and possibly explains her difficulty in
building up a close relationship with anyone of many husbands she took
during her life time. This also explains her purchase of a mansion in
faraway Tangiers, in Morocco, known as Sidi Hosni, where she preferred
to live away from the hustle and bustle of busy city life.
Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth Heiress
Inheritance of her
mother's estate and her marriages
As a young elite woman making her first appearance in
society, Barbara Hutton was given a lavish debutante ball on her 18th
birthday, attended by guests of other elite families of New York, such
as the Rockefeller and Astor families. She was also introduced to King
George V and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace. In 1933, when she attained
21 years of age, she inherited $50 million from her mother's estate,
which made her one of the wealthiest women in the world. In the same
year she contracted her first marriage to the Georgian Prince Alexis
Mdivani, and it was in anticipation of this marriage that she purchased
the Marie Antoinette pearl necklace from Cartier's of New York, the
subject of this webpage. Unfortunately her first marriage ended in
divorce two years later in 1935, and subsequently she contracted six
more marriages during her life time, and all of them were to either
Princes, Counts or Barons, except for her third husband Cary Grant, a
popular Hollywood star. All her marriages were short lived lasting from
a minimum of one year to a maximum of four years. Three of her
ex-husbands subsequently died in automobile accidents.
Her only marriage
that resulted in an issue
Her only marriage that produced an issue, a son named
Lance, was the second one to the Danish Count Curt Haugwitz-Reventlow,
but unfortunately Reventlow subjected her to verbal and physical abuse,
that led to savage beating, leaving her hospitalized and him in jail.
The undue pressure exerted on her by Reventlow, was to give up her
American citizenship and instead take Danish citizenship, in order to
avoid paying taxes. The marriage eventually ended up in divorce in 1938,
and Barbara had the custody of her son, whom she entrusted to a
governess to look after. The child later had his education in private
boarding schools.
Her marriage to
popular Hollywood star Cary Grant
As World War II broke out in 1939, she moved to
California, where she played an active role in the war effort, by
donating her yacht to the Royal Navy, by donating money to help the Free
French Forces and using her high profile image to sell war bonds. It was
during this period that she met the popular Hollywood movie star
Cary Grant, who fell in love with her and married her, out of a genuine
desire to care for her. Grant had the money and the popularity and never
intended to benefit from this marriage. Yet, this marriage too failed.
Her acquisition of
mansions around the world
Hutton acquired several mansions around the world
including Sidi Hosni in Tangiers, Morocco and a Japanese-style palace
she built in Mexico, on a 30-acre estate. She spent a lot of time in
Tangiers, where she met her 7th and last husband Raymond Doan, which
also was short-lived from 1964 to 1966.
Her final days at
Beverly Hills
In 1972, the death of her only son Lance, in an
aircraft crash, drove her into a state of despair, and her drinking
habits worsened. Her limitless generosity and reckless spending over the
years, had by now diminished her enormous fortune, and she began to
liquidate her assets in order to raise funds to live. She lived at the
Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California, where she
spent her final years and died from a heart attack in May 1979, aged 66.
She was buried in the Woolworth family mausoleum, in the Bronx, New
York.
You are welcome to discuss this post/related topics with Dr Shihaan and other experts from around the world in our FORUMS (forums.internetstones.com)
Related :-
1)
La Regente Pearl - La Perle Napoleon
2)
La Pelegrina Pearl
External Links :-
1) The Strong Auction Market
for Natural Pearls - by David Bennett, World Pearl Forum, Dubai 2009 (pdf-
Document).
References :-
1) Natural Pearl Necklace Sets Record - Morgan Beard,
Editor-in-Chied, Colored Stone. www.colored-stone.com
2) The Big Optimistic - JCK Jewelers Circular
Keystone, 10-01-2005.
3) Anne of Austria - From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia.
4) Louis XIV of France - From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia.
5) Louis XV of France - From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia.
6) Louis XVI of France - From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia.
7)The Eyes Have It - 16th May, 2002, news article
from the New Scotsman
8) Barbara Hutton - From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
