Diamond Necklace, the

Piece of jewellery made in Paris in 1775 by the court jewellers, Boehmer and Bassenge, allegedly for Madame du Barry, the mistress of Louis XV. Louis died before the necklace was completed. In 1784, Cardinal de Rohan was tricked by an adventuress (calling herself the comtesse de Lamotte-Valois and pretending to be in the service of the queen) into buying the necklace for Marie Antoinette on credit. De Lamotte then obtained the necklace from the cardinal, on the pretext that she was going to give it to the queen, and her husband sold the separate diamonds abroad. The truth was exposed when the first payment became due.

De Rohan was thrown into the Bastille, but acquitted after a sensational trial in 1786; it was popularly believed that the affair had been contrived by the Queen to bring about his downfall. De Lamotte and her husband were captured, the former branded as a thief, and the latter sent to the galleys for life. The question as to whether the queen and de Rohan were entirely innocent in the matter was much debated.