Shirley Bassey jewelry will go up for auction in Paris next October

More than 80 jewels belonging to the private collection of the British singer Shirley Bassey will go up for auction in Paris next October, as announced this Wednesday by the auction house Sotheby’s.

Among the pieces that can be purchased on October 10 there are works by Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Piaget, as well as a good number of watches.

In a statement, Sotheby’s explained that the 87-year-old artist of Welsh origin, well known for having provided vocals for the soundtrack of films in the James Bond series such as ‘Diamonds Are Forever’, has been a fan of collecting jewelry since his beginnings as a singer.

Each item auctioned in the auction represents a particular moment in the career of Bassey, who among other distinctions is a Dame of the British Empire and a member of the Grammy Awards Hall of Fame.

“Collecting jewelry, to me, is like collecting memories, and this collection is full of them. All the pieces have a meaning and tell a story, whether I bought them for myself or gave them to me as a gift.”Bassey stated.

“I fell in love with jewelry when I first discovered natural pearls as a starting singer, and I bought my first string of pearls, the first piece of jewelry I ever bought for myself.”he added.

For the Cardiff singer, her passion for diamonds even preceded her recording of the theme song for ‘Diamonds Are Forever’: “In fact, I agreed to sing the song because it rang true to me and because of how I felt then, and still feel now, about diamonds.”

Among the highest-value items are a diamond necklace, estimated to be worth between 270,000 and 320,000 euros, and a diamond and gold set created by Cartier and valued between 200,000 and 250,000 euros.

The collection will be exhibited at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco from May 10 to 11, and at Sotheby’s in London from the 24th to the 29th of this month, before moving to Paris from October 4th until the day of the auction.