I immediately thought of the title of this blog after hearing about actress Ellen Barkin’s successful auction. For all of you who didn’t follow the ugly, bitter, lengthy divorce battle that took place between Barkin and her billionaire husband Ron Perelman (which made headlines for months)—you don’t know what you missed. (I say that very tongue-in-cheek.) It was nasty, it was brutal, and it put what occurred between Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner’s characters in the 1989 movie “War of the Roses” to shame.
Long story short, after six years of marriage, Perelman surprised Barkin with divorce papers… and the battle began. The divorce was finally finalized a few months ago and just last night Barkin sold off more than 100 pieces of jewelry she had accumulated during her marriage. And when you are a celebrity, what better way to unload jewels than to hold an auction? That’s exactly what Barkin did, and in doing so she was able to walk away with more than $20 million. (Talk about the ultimate revenge by a scorned woman!)
According to New York’s “Daily News,” the auction of Barkin’s baubles included her wedding band, which pre-sale estimates had placed at $50,000. Instead, the ring fetched $130,000. According to the paper, Perelman had given Barkin many significant gems during the course of their relationship, including her first strand of pearls and a lollipop-size 22.76-carat diamond ring. According to media reports, during Tuesday’s sale, three individual items broke the $1 million barrier: a diamond oval-cut 22.76 carat ring, which went for more than $1.8 million, a rectangular-cut 30.8 carat diamond ring, which went to someone who bid $1.47 million, and a pair of diamond bangles, which sold for slightly more than $1.13 million.
Barkin’s reaction: “She was very, very pleased,” an auction spokesperson told reporters. However, what isn’t known is Perelman’s reaction. The “News” reports that the auction house wasn’t aware if the entrepreneur had a proxy bidder in the house trying to buy back Barkin’s jewels. But, why would he want to? Why would he want to spend all that money twice? And, who would he give them too? Is he slimy enough to pawn them off to another unsuspecting love interest? Then again, a 30-carat diamond ring would be hard to turn down…