You Cannot Have Your Diamonds and Wear Them Too

 This week in class we discussed "famous" swindlers and their effect on history. In this blog post, I wanted to talk about a swindle that we didn't hit on. I find this to be one of the most insane swindles I have ever heard due to the money involved and due to the fame of the people involved.   

This is... The Affair of the Diamond Necklace!

    The Affair of the Diamond Necklace was a major political scandal in 1785 centered on a diamond necklace worth about 2 million livres, or roughly $15–20 million in modern U.S. dollars. The incident involved Jeanne de la Motte, who manipulated Cardinal de Rohan into believing that Queen Marie Antoinette secretly wanted to purchase the necklace. Using forged letters and staged encounters (with a Marie Antoinette look alike), Jeanne convinced Rohan to obtain the necklace. In forged letters, Jeanne told Rohan that he needed to take out lines of credit and purchase the necklace. Jeanne then took the necklace explaining that as the Queens best friend she would give it to her, in order to avoid suspicion from the King. Jeanne then dismantles it to sell the diamonds. After sending hundreds of thousands of dollars in modern USD and through pressure from aggressive creditors, Rohan became suspicious and eager for repayment from the Queen.  When payment was demanded, the court discovered that the queen had never ordered it. Better yet, the Queen hadn't talked to Rohan in over a decade! What gave Jeanne away? She signed the letters as Marie Antoinette de France! Any half-educated noble knows the Queen would NEVER say "de France", it is obvious who she is!  The resulting investigation led to public trials, the humiliation of Rohan, and Jeanne’s conviction. During her conviction and whipping, people wept and yelled their support to Jeanne. After she was convicted, branded, and sentenced to life in the Salpêtrière prison, she escaped within two years. She reportedly accomplished this by disguising herself as a boy and slipping out a window using a rope of knotted bedsheets. This was done through the aid of a sympathetic guard who was a loyal admirer of hers. She then fled to London, where she published memoirs attacking Marie Antoinette and portraying herself as the target of a royal conspiracy. Though the scam was exposed, the queen’s reputation suffered the most. The scandal reinforced existing public resentment toward the monarchy and contributed to the erosion of trust that preceded the French Revolution. 

    I think this story is so interesting and there is so much more to it. I encourage you all to look deeper into this. In terms of takeaways, first of all, this necklace is extremely ugly. I think this also shows the power of swindlers using famous people for their gain. It also reinforces the idea that we must question everything that we come across. Why did Rohan trust this random girl? Why would the Queen want anything to do with him if they haven't talked in a decade? This shows how taking advantage of greed and lust is a way swindlers achieve their twisted goals. I also find it interesting that people instantly trusted Jeanne because the Queen had become such a hated figure.