Brigitte Bardot's Wedding Bracelet Sells for $65,000

(IDEX Online) - A gold charm bracelet worn by Brigitte Bardot at her wedding to her second husband, actor Jacques Charrier, sold for EUR 56,932 ($65,400) yesterday, September 21, at a Paris auction of the French film star's personal belongings.

The 18K yellow-gold (750) bracelet, which weighs 35.2 grams, features charms including two guitars, a heart, a figure, a cage, a hand and a Saint Brigitte medallion. Some of the charms are in 18K and 14K gold, with the remainder in metal.

The bracelet appears to be the one Bardot wore at her wedding to Charrier, based on photographs of the event, according to the auction catalog. It had been estimated at just EUR 800-1,200 ($920-$1,380).

The bracelet was not in perfect condition. The catalog noted dents and said three of the charms had come loose and needed to be reattached.

Bardot, who died in December aged 91, was one of France's most famous film stars of the 1950s and 1960s. She became an international celebrity after starring in the 1956 film "And God Created Woman" and later abandoned acting to devote herself to animal protection.

Other jewelry in the sale included a platinum ring by Mellerio dits Meller set with a 3.67-carat diamond, a Lalique ring and a platinum brooch centered on a roughly 2.5-carat brilliant-cut diamond.

The sale was conducted by Paris auction house Millon at Hotel Drouot and included 285 lots from Bardot's personal belongings, including clothing, photographs, drawings, furniture, guitars and everyday objects from her homes in Paris and Saint-Tropez.

All 285 lots found buyers, generating EUR 953,531 ($1.10m), including buyer's fees, after almost nine hours of bidding. More than 3,000 bidders registered for the sale.

But the auction was opposed by Bardot's fourth and last husband, Bernard d'Ormale, who described it as a "joke" and said it was disrespectful to her memory. He argued that her personal belongings should have been preserved for visitors to La Madrague, her famous Saint-Tropez home.

The Brigitte Bardot Foundation said the auction had been approved by its board in June, when d'Ormale was still its chairman. Proceeds from the sale will go to the foundation and Bardot's only child, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier.

Pic, courtesy Millon, shows the charm bracelet.