Twenty diamonds adorn the medallion bearing the effigy of Louis XIV.

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J. Gicquel / 20 Minutes

  • Jacky Lorant, a Breton industrialist from Saint-Malo, acquired for his town a jewel offered by Louis XIV to a privateer from Saint-Malo.

  • The medallion had been preserved for three hundred years in the descendants of the privateer Alain Porée (1665-1730), who captured 27 enemy ships and participated in the defense of Saint-Malo against the English in 1695.

  • The price is "a world record," said auctioneer Aymeric Rouillac.

The price was set at 50,000 euros.

It was finally for 500,000 euros that the medallion offered by Louis XIV to a privateer from Saint-Malo was auctioned on Sunday at the Château d'Artigny (Indre-et-Loire).

The buyer is Jacky Lorant, a Breton industrialist from Saint-Malo, eager to see the precious jewel decorated with 20 diamonds remain in his town.

“With my wife, we wanted to buy an apartment.

It will ultimately be a medallion, ”said Jacky Lorant, who this year sold his solar equipment business.

"The medallion will circulate a lot in the coming months," he added after signing a check for 620,000 euros (with costs).

The medallion will be auctioned this weekend during a big sale organized by Philippe and Aymeric Rouillac.

- J. Gicquel / 20 Minutes

The medallion had been preserved for three hundred years in the descendants of the privateer Alain Porée (1665-1730), who captured 27 enemy ships and participated in the defense of Saint-Malo against the English in 1695. To thank him, the Sun King had sent him in November 1696 his portrait adorned with 20 rose-cut diamonds.

Only three medallions kept their diamonds

The auction was hotly contested with British and American investors who quickly increased the auction on the Internet and by telephone.

The city of Saint-Malo had also bought for 80,000 euros but could not follow the increase in auctions.

At the Château d'Artigny, auctioneer Aymeric Rouillac is ecstatic when he mentions a medallion offered to a privateer from Saint-Malo by Louis XIV in 1696. The auction promises to be tough. # Touraine pic.twitter.com/ TjqzSgMqXW

- Yvan Plantey (@Yvan_plantey) October 4, 2020

"It's a world record", underlined auctioneer Aymeric Rouillac, according to which Yves Saint-Laurent "had acquired 481,000 euros which is now on display at the Louvre".

Another medallion is kept in a museum in Bologna, Italy.

Of the 400 medallions donated by Louis XIV, only three have kept their diamonds.

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  • Jewelry

  • Saint Malo

  • Auction

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  • History

  • Auctions

  • Diamond