United States actress Ellen Barkin has found the platinum lining to her divorce from billionaire ex-husband Ron Perelman by auctioning off the jewellery he gave her for more than $20 million.
NEW YORK: United States actress Ellen Barkin has found the platinum lining to her divorce from billionaire ex-husband Ron Perelman by auctioning off the jewellery he gave her for more than $20 million.
Barkin had made clear she wanted to get rid of the lot after her marriage broke down earlier this year, telling The New York Times last month: "These are just not memories I want to wear out every day."
The sale at Christie's in New York late on Tuesday included 108 lots of diamond rings, necklaces and earrings from jewellers including Bulgari, Cartier, Tiffany and Van Cleef and Arpels, totalling hundreds of carats.
But the top sellers of the night were items by JAR, the brand founded by discreet Paris-based designer Joel Arthur Rosenthal, variously described as the Faberge of his day and the defining jeweller of his generation.
A 22.76-carat JAR thread ring went for $1.8 million, while a pair of his colorless and faint pink diamond bangles reached $1.1 million.
"Tonight's sensational 20-million-dollar result makes Ellen Barkin's collection the highest single-owner jewellery sale of the past 15 years in the US and also places it among the top four ever worldwide," said Rahul Kadakia, head of jewellery for Christie's Americas.
He said the combination of exceptional period jewels, gemstones and the largest selection of JAR creations ever seen at auction drove the bidding.
"There was a tremendous buzz" in the sale room, he added. The sale totalled $20.37 million, far above expectations. Barkin, 52, divorced corporate raider and Revlon entrepreneur Perelman in February this year after a five-and-a-half-year marriage. She was previously married to brooding Hollywood actor Gabriel Byrne.
Perelman was ranked by the latest Forbes list as the 40th richest American, with seven billion dollars, a little lower than media mogul Rupert Murdoch, but slightly above New York City Mayor and businessman Michael Bloomberg.
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