For sale , £2m jewels that made the stars sparkle
THEY’VE had starring roles in some of the most iconic films in Hollywood.
Whether glittering from Marilyn Monroe’s ears or dazzling on Vivien Leigh’s decolletage, these jewels have earned an unforgettable place in the movies.
Now the treasure trove of famous gems from the silver screen’s golden era is to be sold at auction.
The collection is expected to fetch between £1.6 and 2.4million, having featured in dozens of classic films from the 1930s to the 1960s.
The lots include a serpent belt fitted for Elizabeth Taylor in 1963’s Cleopatra and an elaborate jewelled bib necklace worn by Ona Munson in Shanghai Gesture from 1941 which has been called the most spectacular necklace in the world.
The collection’s creator, Eugene Joseff, manufactured his own jewellery and was seen as having single-handedly made it an essential part of Hollywood costumes.
According to Julien’s Auctions, based in Los Angeles, Mr Joseff supplied nearly 90 per cent of costume jewellery worn on screen in the 1930s and 1940s. He created the concept of loaning jewellery to Hollywood stars and was a canny businessman who kept the pieces for himself, meaning he could reuse them in many films.
Many of the lots were discovered in a warehouse in Burbank, California, by the family of Mr Joseff, who died in 1948.
They include famous pieces such as a necklace worn by Vivien Leigh and a cigar case used by Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind.
There are also sets of earrings worn by Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and in Some Like It Hot.
There are also necklaces worn by Bette Davis in The Virgin Queen and Judy Garland in the Ziegfeld Follies. Mr Joseff was from Chicago and worked in advertising before moving to Hollywood in 1928 where he built a network of designers, stars and studios.
He was a self-taught jeweller and experimented in his garage where he developed a special plating technique that softened the glare of harsh studio lighting. He soon became known as the ‘Jeweller for the Silver Screen’. After Mr Joseff’s death his wife took over the business and managed the company until she died in 2010, eventually earning an Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women of Motion Picture Industry. The jewels are set to be sold in November.