Sotheby's to Auction Bulgari Jewels of Gina Lollobrigida

Gina Lollobridgida, the Italian actress so popular in the mid 20th century, is selling her jewelry through Sotheby’s auction house. Some of the proceeds are earmarked to help advance stem cell research. The now 85 year old actress has not only worked as an actress. She has also worked as a photo-journalist, a sculptor and a humanitarian.

She has had a long-standing relationship with Bulgari jewels since the 1950s when the Italian design house created many exquisite pieces of jewelry for her.

The pieces all date back to the 1950s and 1960s. Among the most valuable jewels are the actress’s 19.3-carat diamond ring and her pearl and diamond earrings. Both are estimated as being worth between $600,000 and $1 million.

Some of the more sought after pieces will be shown in New York, Rome and London before going up for sale. There are 23 pieces in all, and according to a Sotheby’s representative should bring in between $2 and $3 million. The same representative said that she did not know if the Italian actress would attend the auction or not.

Some of the other pieces to be sold at the auction in Geneva include a diamond necklace and bracelet combination that Miss Lollobrigida also wore as a tiara. It is valued between $300,000 and $500,000.

There is a pair of natural pearl and diamond pendants from 1964 that will go under the hammer that she wore to meet Princess Margaret at the premiere of The Taming of the Shrew in 1967. They are estimated to be worth between $600,000 and $1 million.

Miss Lollobrigida wants to devote her time to her sculpting and says “a sculptor doesn’t need jewelry.” As for the proceeds of the sale, she described the cause as “close to her heart” and something that “every sick child should benefit from”.

David Bennett, Sotheby’s chairman, said the auction will be “a wonderful opportunity for collectors to acquire seminal Bulgari pieces imbued with Gina Lollobrigida’s magical provenance.”