The necklace containing around 300 carats of diamonds was bought by an unidentified woman who put in her bid over the phone, Sotheby's said.

A diamond-studded necklace thought to be linked to a scandal that hastened the downfall of the doomed 18th century queen of France, Marie Antoinette, sold at auction in Geneva on Wednesday for 4.26 million Swiss francs ($4.

Composed of approximately 300 carats of old mine-cut diamonds, the historic piece was once worn during royal coronations and is rumoured to hold ties to the scandal that tainted Marie Antoinette’s reputation.

Some of the diamonds are believed to stem from a piece at the centre ... of the Marquesses of Anglesey," Andres White Correal, chairman of the Sotheby's jewelry department, told AFP when the necklace went on display in London in September.