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AuctionsApr 14, 2014
Buyer pays $185K for Marilyn’s rhinestones
Though she once crooned that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, it didn’t take any of the pricey stones to bring in the big bucks for a pair of clip-on earrings worn by Marilyn Monroe.
Marilyn Monroe wore these clip-on rhinestone earrings to a movie premiere in 1955. Over the weekend, a buyer paid $185,000 for them at auction.
Los Angeles--Though she once crooned that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, it didn’t take any of the pricey stones to bring in the big bucks for a pair of clip-on earrings worn by Marilyn Monroe.
During its “Hollywood Legends” sale held Friday and Saturday in Beverly Hills, Calif., Julien’s Auctions sold a pair of rhinestone earrings worn by the blonde bombshell for $185,000.
Monroe donned the earrings for the 1955 premier of The Rose Tattoo and for the Actor’s Studio benefit dinner, which she attended with Marlon Brando. It is also believed she wore them when attending the 1956 opening of The Middle of the Night, a Broadway play in which she starred.
Originally sold by Christie’s during an auction of Monroe’s personal items in 1999, the high estimate for the pair was $200,000; the $185,000 sale price includes the auction house’s commission. The earrings feature two full-cut stones with five strands of cascading baguette-cut rhinestones.
Other Marilyn-related memorabilia sold at the auction included a Photoplay award Monroe won in 1952 ($100,000) and her Ceil Chapman cocktail dress, which sold for $37,500.
Property from the career of David Hasselhoff, a singer and Baywatch star, was the focal point of the weekend sale, which garnered more than $2.5 million total. A bidder paid $152,600 for a 1986 DH Pontiac Firebird two-door hatchback KITT car owned by Hasselhoff and made for him by fans of his 1980s TV show Knight Rider.
Based in Los Angeles, Julien’s Auctions focuses on auctioning the personal property and other memorabilia of famous singers, actors and other celebrities.
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