Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida is planning to sell 23 jewels from her Bulgari collection at Sotheby’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels Sale in May, the auction house announced Tuesday.
The pieces are estimated to be worth as much as 3 million euros, or about $3.8 million.
Lollobrigida, 85, once dubbed "the most beautiful woman in the world" after the title of one of her movies, said some of the proceeds will go to stem cell research.
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"I began collecting jewels from Bulgari in the 1950s and 1960s, drawn by the wonderful craftsmanship and distinctive style of these pieces. They accompanied me on many journeys — both professional and personal —and are redolent of those times and the extraordinary people I met along the way," she said in a statement. "I have decided the time is right to share them with other collectors. In so doing, I can also help a cause very close to my heart, that of stem cell research treatment, which I believe should be freely available to every child. It is my wish that part of the proceeds from the sale will contribute to help fund an international hospital for stem cell research."
Lollobrigida, star of "The World's Most Beautiful Woman" and "Come September," says she wants to devote herself to sculpture and "a sculptor doesn't need jewelry," Sotheby's said in a statement.
Some of the highlights of Lollobrigida's Bulgari collection include a pair of natural diamond and pearl pendants, an emerald and diamond ring, and a 19.3-carat diamond ring.
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"These exceptional jewels are evocative of both a woman, and an era," David Bennett, Sotheby's jewelry, Switzerland, Europe, and Middle East chairman, said in a statement. "Not only do they reflect Gina Lollobrigida’s brilliance, but they are among the finest designs created by Bulgari in the 'dolce vita' years of the 1950s and 1960s."
It's not clear whether Lollobrigida will attend the event in Geneva on May 14.
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