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.

The may contain diamonds involved in a scandal surrounding Marie-Antoinette, that would eventually trigger the French Revolution.

The necklace, which has been worn at two British coronations, smashed auction house estimates at a jewelry sale in Switzerland on Wednesday.

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.