Gina Lollobrigida's jewellery raises $5m at Geneva auction

Gina Lollobrigida’s jewellery collection was the centrepiece of an epic auction of Magnificent and Noble Jewels which saw nearly 650 lots selling for a combined total of $78,229,556.

Her jewellery has fetched almost $5m at an auction in Geneva. The collection included a pair of pearl and diamond earrings that sold for $2.39m, Sotheby's said.
The auction house said the collection went for twice as much as the original estimate.

More than 20 of her pieces - many created by Italian jeweller Bulgari - went under the hammer on Tuesday.
"So often women are lucky enough to be given jewellery, but when you have an actress, a famous lady, who has chosen the jewellery herself it makes it that much more interesting," said David Bennett of Sotheby's Geneva.

The 85-year-old said some of the money would go towards an international hospital for stem-cell treatment.
The Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale, which included jewellery from other sellers, also featured a yellow diamond reportedly once owned by a Shah of Persia that sold for just under $3m.