Catch a glimpse of legendary emerald necklace
A legendary emerald necklace from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), also known as the Emerald Necklace of Huang Zhonghan, is on preview, together with a cluster of jewels and watches, at Shanghai Grand Theater today and tomorrow.
The necklace will be auctioned off during Holly’s Auction Week at the end of May in Beijing.
The necklace is from the collection of the royal families from the Qing Dynasty.
The total 108 beads were previously used as court beads and had been kept at the Hall of Mental Cultivation (养心殿) in the Forbidden City in Beijing. After the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, it became quite common that the royal families, political officials, eunuchs and maids-in-waiting in the palace would sell jewelry for cash.
The court beads were then purchased by a jewelry dealer in Beijing who made them into two emerald necklaces. One of them is made of 30 emerald court beads, and the other has never been found.
Huang Zhonghan, a Chinese entrepreneur in the sugar industry in Indonesia, accidentally purchased the necklace in a boutique shop on a business trip to Beijing. He later gave it to his daughter as a gift.
The Huang family kept the emerald necklace for nearly three generations, and finally auctioned it at Sotheby’s in 2010 for US$2 million.
The Emerald Necklace of Huang Zhonghan
Preview info
Dates: May 11-12, 9am-6pm
Venue: Banquet Hall, Shanghai Grand Theater
Address: 300 People’s Ave
