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Jewellery Owned By Hollywood Actresses Deborah Kerr And Vivien Leigh Fetch Dazzling Prices At Bonhams

Jewellery with Hollywood connections attracted much attention and fetched high prices at Bonhams on 4 December 2008 in London.

deborah-kerr.jpgGlittering gems owned and worn by the legendary Hollywood actress Deborah Kerr included her three-stone diamond engagement ring from her first marriage, which fetched £33,600 and an 18th century ring owned by fellow Hollywood star Vivien Leigh sold for £9,000 – more than six times its pre-sale estimate.

The success of these items proves that glamorous jewellery with celebrity connections combined with fantastic provenance will always prove popular among collectors, forcing prices sky-high.

Provenance to last from here to eternity

Scottish-born actress Deborah Kerr (1921-2007) starred in over 50 films over four decades. Some of her best-loved movies include From Here to Eternity (1953) with Burt Lancaster, The King and I (1956) with Yul Brynner and An Affair to Remember (1957) with Cary Grant. She was also a leading lady to Robert Mitchum, Clark Gable, James Mason, Stewart Granger, David Niven and Spencer Tracy.

Bonhams sold Deborah Kerr’s jewellery on behalf of her family. Kerr’s three-stone diamond engagement ring from her first marriage to Squadron Leader Anthony Bartley on 29 November 1945 sold to an absentee buyer for well above its pre-sale estimate of £20,000-25,000. It fetched £33,600.

An early 19th century gold and turquoise snake-like chain, which the star often wore around her wrist rather than as a necklace, made £5,760 – more than double its pre-sale estimate of £2,000-2,500.

A UK private bidder in the saleroom paid £3,120 for the actress’s 20th century amethyst necklace. Its pre-sale estimate was £1,500-2,000.

Kerr’s 19th century diamond set ring, which had been expected to fetch £800-1,200, sold to a different buyer in the room for £2,640.

The actress’s cultured pearl, emerald and diamond bracelet sold mid-estimate for £5,040 to an absentee bidder.

Jewellery gone with the wind

Vivien Leigh (1913-1967), an English actress and wife of Sir Laurence Olivier won two Academy Awards playing southern belles Scarlett O’Hara in the Hollywood blockbuster Gone with the Wind (1939) and Blanche DuBoisin A Streetcar Named Desire (1951).Also a prolific stage performer, her 30-year stage career encompassed playing Noel Coward and George Bernard Shaw comedy heroines to classic Shakespearean characters Ophelia, Cleopatra, Juliet and Lady Macbeth.

The 18th century diamond, ruby and emerald ring, which fetched £9,000 at Bonhams, was sold by family descendents of Mercia Swinburn, who had been given the ring by her lifelong friend Vivien Leigh. The two actresses had toured together for six months with the Old Vic Theatre Company of Australia and New Zealand in 1948.

www.bonhams.com/jewellery