Diamonds Are Forever singer Shirley Bassey is to auction some of her extensive and “meaningful” jewellery collection, including a diamond ring given to her by Elton John. Photogallery on Dailymail.
Top lots from her collection, which will be exhibited by Sotheby’s London later this month before being auctioned for charity in Paris, include a diamond necklace estimated to sell for between €270,000 and €320,000 (£232,420 and £275,460). A diamond and gold parure created by Cartier is estimated to fetch between €200,000 and €250,000 (£172,170 and £215,210).
The 87-year-old famously sang about diamonds in the 1971 James Bond film starring Sean Connery and said she accepted the offer to sing the track as the lyrics “rang true to me and the way I felt about diamonds then and now.”
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“Collecting jewellery for me is like collecting memories and this collection is full of them,” Bassey said. “All the pieces are meaningful and have a story to tell, whether I bought them for myself or they were gifted to me.
“There is this beautiful 1960s vintage Van Cleef & Arpels ring covered in white diamonds that Elton John gave me after I sang at one of his Aids Gala evenings and which I’ve worn so many times.
“Or the ruby and diamond heart parure I spotted in a fine jeweller’s window during a stopover in Bangkok on my way to my very first concert tour of Australia.
“And perhaps one of the most special pieces in the collection is this emerald parure I bought myself to commemorate my very first Royal Variety Performance in front of the late Queen.”
Patti, 77, revealed that when she was singing with the Bluebelles, Elton, 74 - whose real name is Reginald Dwight - was working with her in the studio as a pianist and she used to invite him back to her flat for food.
Although she asked him to bring back the Tupperware container that she gave him filled with leftovers, he never did, and years later he replaced it with a diamond ring.
