Despite fervent pleas by actress Elizabeth Taylor, the much-publicized Lachrymosa diamond mask failed to sell at a jewelry auction designed to raise money for the American Foundation for AIDS Research. The auction was held at Christie’s in New York.
The mask, created by jewelry designer Henry Dunay, reportedly carried a reserve price of $1 million. Francois Curiel, Christie’s international jewelry director, started the mask at $200,000. Bidding rose slowly to $400,000, at which point Taylor walked to the podium and asked the audience to be generous.
Bidding continued to $550,000, then stalled. Taylor again implored the audience to be generous, but her pleas went unanswered and Christie’s withdrew the mask from sale.
George Kramer, coordinator of the jewelry fund-raising “Glitter and Be Giving” campaign, said the mask failed to sell because the audience consisted mainly of dealers, not celebrities. “A number of people, mostly celebrities, were interested in buying the mask, but they weren’t at the sale,” he says.
Because of recent changes in the AmFAR board, he says, “the group failed to get behind the sales event in time.”
The mask had been exhibited around the world and was the showpiece of AmFAR’s “Glitter and be Giving” campaign designed to raise funds for research through the sale of donated jewelry pieces.
The mask was the only piece not completely donated for the campaign. Partial proceeds from sale of the mask were to have been used to reimburse William Goldberg for the 135 carats of diamonds he provided at cost and Dunay for the 2,000 hours of manufacturing time required (Dunay donated the design). The Platinum Guild and World Gold Council donated the metals used in the mask. |
