Any commodity owned, loved or even as much as touched by Marilyn Monroe is sure to garner millions! And here to make a similar fortune on its sale is a rare 24.04-carat canary yellow gem that was briefly owned by the movie star and was worn by her during the premiere of the 1953 film -Gentlemen prefer Blondes.
The fancy diamond is said to have been pulled from the Golconda mine outside Hyderabad in ancient India and was originally owned by the Gaekwads of Baroda, a ruling family, till the 15th century. After passing through several hands thereafter, the ‘Moon of Baroda’- as it is called, made its way to Meyer Rosenbaum who acquired it in the 1950’s and loaned it to Monroe for the opening of the film. It was last auctioned by Christie’s for a whopping $297,000 in New York, after which it is said to have disappeared for over a decade. As stated by the auction house, “After 28 years, it (The Moon of Baroda) has again reappeared at Christie’s..only this time, the diamond has been classified as a historical diamond.”
The precious gem was also kept on display at Los Angeles from October 16 to 20, before it was transported for auction at the Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels sale to be held on November 27. For those who cannot think of affording the diamond, Christie’s will also give out an autographed photo of the actress wearing the stone at the same time.
[Via:HollywoodReporter]