Philippines will put a new price tag on jewelry seized from former dictator’s wife
Print Edition
THE Philippine government is appraising the dazzling jewelry collection seized three decades ago from Imelda Marcos, the former first lady famous for her massive shoe collection, as it decides on what to do with the jewels experts compared to those owned by royalty.
The jewelry was seized when dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Imelda’s husband, and his family fled to Hawaii in 1986 following a popular revolt that ended his two decades in power. The pieces include a barrel-shaped diamond worth at least US$5 million and a Cartier diamond tiara that’s likely multiple times more valuable than the previous estimate that put it at between US$30,000 to US$50,000.
The Marcos family allegedly amassed billions of dollars’ worth of ill-gotten wealth, and the dictator’s widow, now 86 and a member of Congress, became known for her excessive lifestyle, symbolized by her huge shoe collection and a staggering amount of luxurious jewelry.
The jewelry collection was valued at between US$5 million to US$7 million when it was last appraised more than two decades ago.
Since then, it is likely to have significantly risen in value, Andrew de Castro, of the presidential commission tasked to recover the wealth, said on Tuesday.
The collection is being appraised by Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses this week before the government decides whether to auction it, he said, calling the collection a physical manifestation of excesses during the Marcos regime while many Filipinos suffered in poverty.
Putting the jewelry in a museum or an exhibit has been suggested. The jewels have been stored in a vault at the Philippine central bank for nearly 30 years.
“If I didn’t know where the collection came from, I would probably say it could have come from a royal person,” said David Warren, who headed a Christie’s auction house team that inspected the jewelry. He said the extensive collection includes very rare and exceptional pieces.
A 25-carat Indian pink diamond probably cut in the 18th century and worth at least US$5 million was newly discovered to be part of the collection. It was previously listed as crystal and may have not been shown to appraisers, Warren said. Marcos’ barrel-shaped pink diamond is from India’s famous Golconda region, which produced rare finds like the Hope Diamond.
Pink diamonds are very rare. Warren said a 16-carat vivid pink diamond was sold by Christie’s this month in Geneva for US$28.5 million.
The provenance of the jewelry could radically increase prices should the pieces be auctioned, Warren said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
