Diamonds Are Not Forever? Shirley Bassey auctions jewellery
She once sang Diamonds Are Forever – but Dame Shirley Bassey is now selling hers.
The Welsh singer, 87, is auctioning some of her “meaningful” jewels, including a diamond ring given to her by Sir Elton John.
But anyone who wants the diamonds on their Goldfinger had better be a Big Spender.
Top lots from her collection include a diamond necklace, estimated to sell for between €270,000 and €320,000 (£232,420 and £275,460), and a diamond and gold parure (matched set of ornaments) created by Cartier, estimated to fetch between €200,000 and €250,000 (£172,170 and £215,210).
Pic: Sotheby’s/PA
There is also a yellow diamond ring, which could fetch between €165,000 and €200,000 (£142,030 and £172,150), and an aquamarine, sapphire, diamond, and gem set estimated to sell for between €60,000 and €70,000 (£51,640 and £60,250).
Dame Shirley said the collection of jewellery includes pieces she bought for herself to commemorate significant moments – including performing at her first Royal Variety Performance in front of the late Queen.
“Collecting jewellery for me is like collecting memories and this collection is full of them,” she 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.
Pic: Sotheby’s/PA
Dame Shirley Bassey’s aquamarine, sapphire and diamond gemset, estimated to sell for between €60,000 and €70,000. Pic: Sotheby’s/PA
“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.”
Dame Shirley also revealed she accepted the offer to sing in the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, starring Sir Sean Connery, because the lyrics “rang true” to her.
Read more:
Man City and England star fined for speeding
Brewdog boss calls time on 17 years in charge
Police called to reports of ‘crocodile’ in flood water
“I fell in love with jewellery when I first discovered natural pearls as an up-and-coming singer and I bought myself my first string of pearls – the first piece of jewellery I’d ever bought,” she said.
“However, I quickly graduated to my lifelong passion for diamonds which preceded the recording of Diamonds Are Forever.
“In fact, I accepted to sing the song because it rang true to me and the way I felt about diamonds then and now.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Highlights from Dame Shirley’s collection will be exhibited at Sotheby’s London from 24 to 29 May before they go on display in Paris from 4 October.
The live auction will take place at Sotheby’s Paris on 10 October.
The collection is part of the Sotheby’s Fine Jewels biannual auction with proceeds from Dame Shirley’s sale benefiting her chosen charities.
The crash involving a cargo ship and oil tanker off the East Yorkshire coast is bad news for the sea, fish and air in the area. What we don’t know yet is quite how bad it will be.
That depends on a few things – but the speed of the collision, clouds of filthy black smoke from the fires and the leaked fuel are certainly worrying.
Firstly, it matters what was on board those two massive vessels.
Follow live: Jet fuel spilling into sea after tanker collision
Analytics firm Vortexa estimates the 183m-long tanker was carrying about 130,000 barrels of jet fuel (kerosene), which is now leaking into the sea.
Jet fuel is not as sticky or viscous as heavier types of oil, thankfully, so it’s less likely to clog the feathers and fur of birds and seals. It can also be broken down by natural bacteria.
But it can still poison fish and kill animals and plants on the shoreline if it makes its way into the soil there.
The Marine Conservation Society has pointed out the site in the Humber estuary is close to some protected areas and is important for seabirds and harbour porpoises.
And both ships will have been powered by a dirtier, heavier kind of oil – likely marine gas oil or heavy fuel oil, though we don’t know the details yet.
Heavy fuel oil is nasty stuff.
Pic: Bartek Smialek/PA
Cheap, thick and tar-like, it can smother animals and is very dangerous if they consume it, and is extremely difficult to clean up. Let’s hope this isn’t creeping around the North Sea already.
We don’t know how much of either the jet fuel or the oil powering the ships has leaked, or how much will be burned off in the violent fires – which themselves are ploughing black smoke and filthy air pollution into the surrounding atmosphere.
And we don’t know for sure what was on the Solong cargo ship and if, or what, will go into the sea.
Cargo ship ‘had sodium cyanide on board’
It was carrying 15 containers of sodium cyanide among other cargo, according to a report from maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
The container vessel was also transporting an unknown quantity of alcohol, said the casualty report – an assessment of incidents at sea – citing a message from the local coastguard.
Plastic takes hundreds of years to break down, and potentially can choke or trap animals.
Many of us have seen that uncomfortable viral video of a turtle having a straw yanked out of its nose. Previous accidents on cargo ships have seen plastic Lego pieces wash up in Cornwall 25 years later.
Read more:
How UK North Sea platforms dump gas
Secondly, the impact depends on the sea and weather conditions around it.
Things like the wind and currents affect how an oil spill spreads in the sea. Scientists can draw up computer models to simulate how the oil could behave.
Thirdly, it matters how quickly this is all tackled and then cleaned up, if necessary, and if it can be.
Usually the slower the response, the worse the impact.
The coastguard has said the incident “remains ongoing” and it has started assessing the “likely counter pollution response” that will be required.
Such a response might need the help of numerous public bodies: the government environment department, the transport department, the Environment Agency and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
So for now the best we can hope for – aside from the welfare of the people involved – is that not all the oil is spilled or burnt, that conditions are calm and that rescuers and those cleaning up can work swiftly.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports11 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway