Divorced actress's jewels fetch $20 million at auction

NEW YORK — Ellen Barkin's jewelry, more than 100 pieces that included her wedding ring from her marriage to Revlon billionaire Ron Perelman, has fetched $20.3 million at auction.

A hush came over the packed Christie's sales room Tuesday evening when the auctioneer announced the sale of the ring, a wide band set with four rows of bell-cut diamonds topped in 18-karat gold.

It sold for $130,000, surpassing a presale estimate of $50,000. The auction house did not disclose the buyer's name.

Among the other 103 lots, which ranged from period jewels to gemstones, a 22.76-carat diamond ring was purchased by a private U.S. collector for $1.8 million — the highest price of the night.

Christie's said the film star was "thrilled" with the outcome of the sale.

The $20.3 million total "makes Ellen Barkin's collection the highest single-owner jewelry sale of the past 15 years in the U.S. and also places it among the top four ever worldwide," said Rahul Kadakia, head of Christie's jewelry department.

Barkin and Perelman married in 2000 and divorced six years later. The chairman of Revlon has a net worth of more than $6 billion.

Barkin is now filming "Ocean's Thirteen" with George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Her other film credits include "The Big Easy" with Dennis Quaid and "Sea of Love" with Al Pacino.