Updated Celebrity Rings!!!

Rosebud8506 · Aug 28, 2006

They are all so lovely, but between you and me, they could use a few minutes in the Ultrasonic!!!

shinythings · Aug 29, 2006

Felicity Huffman wore this to the Emmy''s. Looks like a cushion with a halo, and I''m guessing the blueish color is a reflection.

It''s a screen shot from a clip on people.com

bling*diva* · Aug 30, 2006

~~Great find shinythings!!!

blueroses · Aug 30, 2006

This may deserve a thread of its own at some point, but have you all heard about the Ellen Barkin jewelry auction at Christie's? Some SERIOUS Bling going up for sale. MAJOR.

ETA: Copying this from "the bling blog" Kinda funny:

For years I couldn't quite get why Ellen Barkin married Ron Perelman. Yeah, obviously the money. Duh. But she seemed to love being a carnie, didn't she? She really seemed to love being an actress for the sake of acting, no? She was pretty talented, too. I loved The Big Easy.

And then to give that love of being an employable, acting carnie up so she could have... what? An endless string of lunches at Le Cirque followed by chauffered rides to Bergdorf's where she could buy another Chanel suit, size zero, and then presumably get some sort of salon-type maintenance and then... what? Home to prepare for yet another evening out with Ronnie Baby? Yawn.

After a while, all the niceties would probably get tiresome. Plus, Perelman? Eww. Order me an IV of something potent, stat. Is he loud? He just looks loud. And like he uses too much cologne. And in spite of the cologne, the smell of Scotch and rare ostrich meat and Stilton would overwhelm. Yuck.

So while I can't imagine what a drag it must've been to have been married to that bombastic Ron Perelman, upon learning that Ellen Barkin had amassed quite a collection (17 pieces!) of super-reclusive Place Vendôme jeweler Joel Arthur Rosenthal's work (aka JAR) I thought, "Eureka!" If there was a thing that would've kept a girl around for that long, maybe the prospect of periodic trips to the atelier of JAR was it. Maybe.

Now Ms. Barkin is getting set, with the help of Christie's, to auction off the (near) entire lot of her jewelry she collected while married to Perelman, 102 pieces in total.

She is keeping one piece, a diamond ring, which is similar to the signature JAR "thread ring" at left.

Platinum and diamonds, set in open-weave micro-pavé thread-like settings. Don't worry, of the 17 JAR pieces, there are four "thread rings."

The most newsworthy of the pieces set for auction, of course, are the aforementioned 17 Rosenthal pieces. In the collection are also pieces from the Duchess of Windsor's collection, Doris Duke's estate, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels that Barkin owned during her marriage to Perelman.

The auction, which will take place in October, is expected to fetch upwards of $15 million dollars. That, combined with whatever settlement one can squeeze out of an already thrice-divorced, über business-savvy, lawyered-to-the-gills billionaire, to whom one has been married for less than ten years in the state of New York (read: she doesn't get half, there were no kids, fo' shizzle there was a pre-nup, and no wonder she's selling) ought to set Barkin up for the future pretty nicely. She's already in Las Vegas shooting Ocean's 13, so that tells me what she really wants to be doing.

Here's more on the jewelry. According to Women's Wear Daily,

"Less than 50 JAR creations have appeared in the auction market and all of them fetched considerably more than their retail price," said François Curiel, chairman of Christie's Europe and the auction house's head of jewelry. "They are considered museum pieces, so rare that there is virtually no limit to what collectors are willing to spend to own one. Our estimates appear to be always ridiculously low and I have even considered no longer publishing them when JAR pieces come up for sale. JAR defies all the rules of appraising jewelry."

Rosenthal, 63, a New York native who moved to Paris in 1966, is said to produce 70 to 80 pieces annually. He uses high-quality precious stones like Golconda diamonds, Burma rubies, Kashmir sapphires and Indian emeralds, and puts intense labor into each piece. Socialite Lily Safra and Princess Firyal of Jordan are said to be some of his top clients.

Blah, blah, blah... socialites, royals, socialites...

Anyhow, in the WWD article, Barkin talks about how she used to sleep in the earrings, and never treated the precious things as if they were, well, precious. And I am of two minds about that. First, I am glad she wore them, and wore them a lot. And second, I am glad she recognizes that she isn't the right owner for them anymore. She states that she and Rosenthal are personal friends. By this I assume that she has his blessing to sell the goods.

Good luck, Ellen! I can call you Ellen, can't I? Go make some movies I'll see. Glad you're back in the "working actresses of a certain age" pool. Didn't even know I missed you. Can't stand that Susan SaranWrap woman. I'll go see Oceans 13. And 14. And 15... but that might be for Clooney, I won't lie, but I'll be glad to see you, too.

ME again--If pictures from this auction get on the Christie's site I think this deserves its own thread, no? BLINGTASTIC!!

bling*diva* · Aug 30, 2006

~~Thanks for the heads-up blueroses!! I will definitley be watching out for that auction... and I agree, it should have its own thread (102 pieces!!)!! I can''t wait to see them!!!!

Now, these pics are not high quality, but they will do... for now

Mariah Carey (when she was married to Tommy Mottola)...

bling*diva* · Aug 30, 2006

~~It looks like a square cut (radiant or princess) with trillions...

bling*diva* · Aug 30, 2006

~~Last one...

bling*diva* · Aug 30, 2006

~~After the divorce (I''m guessing she bought this for herself) and it''s lovely...

bling*diva* · Aug 30, 2006

~~I''ve always loved her butterfly ring...

bling*diva* · Aug 30, 2006

~~It''s from Van Cleef & Arpels, and I have some blingy pics to scan from the new InStyle, so I''ll have those later on tonight (after Laguna Beach!!)

bling*diva* · Aug 30, 2006

~~One more... then I''m doing the scans!!

bling*diva* · Aug 30, 2006

~~Here''s my first try...

bling*diva* · Aug 30, 2006

~~These are the actual rings (given to InStyle to take pics) from the jewelers... it''s about time someone got it right (US Weekly should be taking notes!!

)...

bling*diva* · Aug 30, 2006

~~Beyonce''s pink & white diamond bling from Lorraine Schwartz...

bling*diva* · Aug 30, 2006

~~Madonna''s Sapphire & Diamond bling from Neil Lane...

bling*diva* · Aug 30, 2006

~~Mary J. Blige''s Coral & Gold Earrings by Loree Rodkin...

bling*diva* · Aug 30, 2006

~~Joss Stone''s gold earrings & cuff from Zana X...

Larissa · Aug 31, 2006

I love some of the "smaller" more normal-people sized stuff a couple of pages back. Sometimes the big things just look silly (except for Madonna''s sapphire ring, of course!).

diamondfan · Aug 31, 2006

I read an article about Ellen Barkin. She wore a 35 or 37 carat stone, and seven strands of pearls around town. she had it all, and loved the life. do not know what happened in that marriage, but so many marriages seem to be biting the dust. it is sad. debra messing''s original ering did not look like that. maybe she got an upgrade? I love some of those rings. I love some of those halo''d cushions...gorgeous beyond all description.