Heirs of Beheaded King Sell Marie Antoinette's Pearl Pendant
- Queen smuggled jewelry out of France before facing guillotine
- Gems not seen for more than 200 years sold for $36 million
A pearl and diamond pendant that once adorned the neck of ill-fated French Queen Marie Antoinette sold for a record 36.4 million Swiss francs ($36 million) at auction on Wednesday in Geneva.
Not seen in public for more than 200 years, the gems belonged to the Bourbon-Parma family, which traces its lineage back to French King Louis XIV. His great, great, great grandson, King Louis XVI, and his wife Marie Antoinette were beheaded in 1793. The queen was able to smuggle some of her jewelry outside France before she died.