$100 Million Necklace to be Auctioned

A jade necklace once owned by China’s former Empress Cixi will be auctioned in Hong Kong with a starting price of 180 million yuan (about $28.8 million), according to the China News Service. Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) was a concubine of Emperor Xianfeng and regent of the Empire for some time. Although not a member of the imperial family, Cixi served as regent of the Chinese Empire several times between 1861 and 1908. The necklace, made of 108 jade beads, will be the most valuable item at the Beijing Sanxitang International Auction Company’s spring auction on June 9. The size of the beads is more or less identical, with the largest measuring 12 millimeters. The necklace is said to have been a favorite piece of jewelry of Cixi, who unofficially but effectively controlled the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China for 47 years, from 1861 until her death in 1908. The necklace was later given as a gift to her grandson Emperor Guangxu, who in turn gave it to his concubine Consort Zhen. The highest price to date for a late Qing Dynasty jade necklace was $27.1 million, paid at a Sotheby’s auction in April. The auction house estimates the Cixi necklace is worth at least $103 million. And who would dare wear it?