Marie Antoinette's pearl pendant sells for record $36M

Nov. 14 (UPI) -- A pearl and diamond pendant belonging to French Queen Marie Antoinette sold for a record $36 million at an auction in Switzerland on Wednesday, Sotheby's announced.

The auction house said the pendant sold for $36,427,000 -- an auction record for a pearl -- at its "Royal Jewels from the Bourbon-Parma Family" auction in Geneva, featuring several pieces from Antoinette's collection.

The pendant was valued at about $2 million before fetching the record-setting $36 million price after a fierce round of bidding, the BBC reported.

The previous record for the most expensive pearl sold at an auction was a necklace owned bya late actor Elizabeth Taylor, which sold for $11.8 million at Christie's auction house in 2011.

Daniela Mascetti, deputy chairman of Sotheby's jewelry Europe and senior international specialist, hailed the auction as "one of the most important royal jewelry collections ever to appear on the market," adding each piece comes with its own history.

"Never before seen in public, this extraordinary group of jewels offers a captivating insight into the lives of its owners going back hundreds of years," Mascetti said.

Other items belonging to Antoinette sold at the auction included a pair of pearl and diamond earrings and a monogram ring with a lock of her hair.

A look inside Sotheby's 'Royal Jewels from the Bourbon Parma Family'