Ellen Barkin hawkin' her bling
PUSSS...@aol.com
Throngs of gem gawkers began filing into Christie's auction house
yesterday for a glimpse of the year's most talked-about treasures.
The doors opened to the public for "Magnificent Jewels from the
Collection of Ellen Barkin," $15 million worth of the accessories given
to the movie star by her mogul ex-husband, Ron Perelman. Barkin is
ridding herself of the jewels following the messy divorce.
"Their taste was just so impeccable," gushed Hetty Park of Manhattan as
she looked at a Fred Leighton diamond bracelet worth around $100,000.
"It's an eye you either have or you don't, and they had it."
Park plans to return with her husband for the auction, on Tuesday, to
vie with other potential buyers for the cuff. "I'll get it," she said.
Many guests came just for the chance to adorn themselves with hundreds
of thousands of dollars worth of Barkin's baubles for just a few
minutes.
"Jewelry is my golf," said Saree Block, 54, of Manhattan, as she
slipped on a 24.8-carat sapphire ring. "All of her stuff was just so
big." Block might call into the auction, she says, to try for a string
of ruby beads valued at around $300,000.
Others showed up to view a tangible bit of the messy celebrity divorce
between Barkin and Perelman.
"I just wanted to see how much control $15 million in jewelry can buy,"
said Manhattan artist Jacqueline Catton as she admired an actrine and
peridot bracelet worth around $20,000. "I heard Barkin's husband was
very controlling, and you can almost see that with each piece: 'Here,
honey, do this for me.'"
Not everyone was turned on by Barkin's castaways.
"There are a few things that are interesting, but a lot of it is pretty
pedestrian and commercial," sniffed jewelry designer Chelle Kraus. "A
lot of it is stuff you can go into a shop and buy."
The items will be on display at the auction house, 20 Rockefeller
Plaza, through Tuesday - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
tomorrow, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday.
mystique
"Brandy Alexandre" <bran...@kittylittercomcast.net> wrote in message
news:Xns9855712B...@129.250.170.81...
> <PUSSS...@aol.com> wrote in alt.gossip.celebrities:
>
>>
>> "There are a few things that are interesting, but a lot of it is
>> pretty pedestrian and commercial," sniffed jewelry designer Chelle
>> Kraus. "A lot of it is stuff you can go into a shop and buy."
>
>
> http://www.chellekraus.com
>
No shit, Brandy....I looked at her site and that is some ugly crap that I
wouldn't look twice at in a K-Mart!
uggh....
MaryLong2
On the Rocks: Christie's Shows Jewelry of Perelman-Barkin Split
By Lindsay Pollock
Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Before they divorced in February, actress Ellen
Barkin and billionaire financier Ronald O. Perelman seemed to dovetail
in at least one area: her love of glitzy jewelry and his deep pockets.
The dazzling fruits of their shopping sprees went on view today at
Christie's International in New York.
More than 100 pieces will be sold next Tuesday and are expected to
fetch as much as $15 million. Barkin has said she will use the auction
proceeds to fund a movie-production company.
There have been many high-profile single-owner jewelry auctions,
usually following the death of a grand dame, but this is possibly the
first such sale driven by divorce and the wife's unashamed profession
that she wants some karmic cleansing -- and maybe just a bit of
revenge.
Barkin was a regular at jeweler Fred Leighton's Manhattan shop on
Madison Avenue. She was one of his top buyers during her five-year
marriage to Perelman, which paralleled her abrupt transformation from
downtown hipster to Upper East Side socialite.
``You have to have big money to put together a collection like that,''
said Leighton, who said he sold Barkin 48 of the 102 lots in the sale.
``She liked rarity, she liked things that were antique and she liked
the idea of them being one-of-a- kind.''
Confident Taste
She was confident of her taste from the start. ``Her taste is very
sophisticated, a little hippie-ish, a little Hollywood- ish,'' Leighton
said. ``She liked things that would look good on her, not so much the
stone itself.''
The Barkin exhibition occupies two galleries. The larger features
wall-size glamour shots of Barkin, 52. Glass cases are strewn with
art-deco diamond brooches, long strands of natural pearls and
chandelier diamond earrings.
A 16.9-carat diamond pendant necklace, which Barkin wore to sleep and
lounging at home in sweat pants, according to Christie's, has been
assigned a top estimate of as much as $800,000.
Barkin also bought from Leighton two pieces once owned by the Duchess
of Windsor, Wallis Simpson. A gold, beige and pink bag, encrusted with
diamonds and rubies on the clasp, has a high estimate of $80,000. This
is considerably less than the $198,000 an anonymous buyer paid for it
at Sotheby's Geneva in 1987 at the famed Duchess of Windsor auction.
In addition to the estate jewels acquired from Leighton, Barkin fed a
serious habit for jewels from a Parisian cult- designer who goes by the
name JAR. A group of 17 pieces by JAR (born in the Bronx as Joel Arthur
Rosenthal) are expected to ignite fierce bidding battles. JAR, who
makes only 70 to 80 pieces a years, operates from an exclusive atelier.
Seeking a Challenge
``He likes to sell to people who he qualifies and not just for
financials -- to people who challenge him intellectually, who have some
style and taste of their own,'' said Andrew Nelson, president of Nelson
Rarities, a Maine-based jewelry store. ``He doesn't just want to sell
to some rich person.''
JAR is ranked among the most talented and important contemporary
jewelry designers. His earrings, bracelets and rings are displayed in a
cozy second gallery in near darkness. Visitors are given small
flashlights at the entrance and use the tiny beams to illuminate the
facets of a 31.8-carat apricot diamond ring -- given a high estimated
price of $800,000 -- and a pair of topaz, ruby and diamond earrings for
as much as $80,000.
The experience of shining the little flashlights on the inert objects,
which come to life when illuminated, is vaguely pornographic, like a
high-end peep show.
`Great Time to Sell'
The top of the jewelry market has been strong during the past five
years, said Rahul Kadakia, the head of Christie's New York jewelry
department. ``The retail prices have become the (wholesale) trading
prices of five or six years ago,'' said Kadakia. ``Imagine. What a
great time to sell.''
Leighton expects Barkin to do well from the auction, even after paying
Madison Avenue prices during the past few years. ``I think it's gonna
go very high,'' Leighton said. ``I don't think you can put the
collection together as easily in the next five years as the past five
years. She was able to buy things that she loved, but she was also a
good buyer.''