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Audrey Hepburn’s ‘Roman Holiday’ Necklace Heads To Auction
The piece is estimated to sell for more than $20,000.
The pearl necklace Audrey Hepburn wore in “Roman Holiday” is going up for auction at Christie’s Geneva this month.
Geneva—Audrey Hepburn’s fine pearl collier worn in the final scene of the 1953 romantic comedy “Roman Holiday” will be up for auction at Christie’s upcoming Geneva sale.
The wide, choker-style necklace will be offered in the “Jewels Online: The Geneva Edit” sale, which started Friday and continues through Nov. 16.
It is estimated to sell for 18,000-26,000 CHF or $20,070 to $28,990.
Italian design house Fürst created the piece.
The Fürst family is Austro-Hungarian and its history in jewelry dates back to the 1850s, when Moric Fürst moved to Turin, a city in Northern Italy, to establish a business as a jeweler.
He later became a leading supplier for the Savoyard court.
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The wide, choker-style necklace will be offered in the “Jewels Online: The Geneva Edit” sale, which started Friday and continues through Nov. 16.
It is estimated to sell for 18,000-26,000 CHF or $20,070 to $28,990.
Italian design house Fürst created the piece.
The Fürst family is Austro-Hungarian and its history in jewelry dates back to the 1850s, when Moric Fürst moved to Turin, a city in Northern Italy, to establish a business as a jeweler.
He later became a leading supplier for the Savoyard court.
Hepburn, born in 1929, had an affinity for pearls.
Throughout her life, the award-winning British actress and humanitarian wore single-strand pearl necklaces and pearl stud earrings, which became a signature part of her simple-yet-elegant style.
Her jewelry collection was the perfect embodiment of Hepburn’s well-known philosophy that, “elegance is the only beauty that never fades,” Christie’s said.
Roman Holiday, which co-starred Gregory Peck, is celebrated for its exquisite costume and jewelry designs as much as its storytelling.
Selected to enhance Hepburn’s natural charm and grace, the Fürst pearl necklace, along with other jewelry in Roman Holiday, adorned the actress with a feel of sophistication and glamour.
The piece showed the transformation her character, the young royal Princess Ann, makes from “regal opulence to carefree elegance,” Christie’s said.
Hepburn received the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film; it was her only Oscar win, though she was nominated a total of five times.
Off the screen, Hepburn served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and dedicated the latter part of her life to humanitarian work, traveling globally to advocate for children’s rights and emergency relief efforts.
She died of cancer at age 63 in 1993.
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