Actress Gina Lollobrigida's diamonds fetch $4.9 Mln at Sotheby's

Diamond jewelry belonging to Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida sold for more than 4.74 million Swiss francs ($4.9 million) on Tuesday in Geneva, setting a record for pearl earrings, said an auctioneer at Sotheby's, RIA reported.

Lollobrigida, a cinema icon of the 1950s and 1960s, said she was selling the jewelry to raise money for stem cell research.
A pair of diamond and natural pearl earrings sold for $2.37 million.

The earrings beat the $1.98 million figure set in 2011 from the sale of natural pearl and diamond earrings owned by late actress Elizabeth Taylor.

Other prized items from Lollobrigida's collection included a Bulgari necklace and bracelet combination, and a Bulgari ring featuring a 19.03-carat cushion-shaped diamond. Each fetched $776,056.

The 85-year-old actress attended the auction, hoping the money raised would go towards advancing stem cell research in Italy.