How to bid on Erika Jayne’s infamous diamond earrings
Get your paddles ready.
The infamous diamond earrings Erika Jayne was forced to turn over amid her ongoing legal battles are headed to the auction block in California on Dec. 7, Page Six can exclusively reveal.
“They are quite possibly the most talked about jewelry in the world at the moment, which adds kind of an unknown excitement and interest factor,” Stephen Swan, vice president of John Moran Auctioneers, tells us.
“We haven’t established a starting bid yet, but because it’s a court-ordered sale, the starting bid is going to be very attractive.”
Jayne’s estranged husband Thomas Girardi purchased the earrings in 2007 at a retail value of $750,000. Since then, the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star, 51, has claimed that the studs have increased in value to $1.4 million.
However, Mollie Burns Keith, the gemologist and director of the jewelry department at John Moran Auctioneers, exclusively tells Page Six that the earrings have not been appraised since 2004 and Jayne’s “unfounded number” is “based on clearly nothing.”
However, she says the sparklers will be getting a new GIA report, which is a full scientific and unbiased assessment of the diamonds, prior to the auction.
“The original grading was done in 2004 and those need to be updated,” Burns Keith adds.
Swan says the starting bid will “definitely be lower” than the retail price tag Girardi, 83, paid.
We’re also told the notoriety the earrings have will not play a role in the value given to the earrings at the auction, but that factor is likely to “propel” people to place higher bids.
“What an exciting moment to have these and to own these,” Swan says. “They are definitely a phenomenon in our culture right now and what better of a dinner party conversation-starter than to be able to show them off.”
If Jayne wanted to place a bid to win her earrings back, that option is on the table.
“There is no reason why she could not bid on them,” Swan confirms.
However, as Burns Keith cheekily points out, “She would have to go through the pre-approval process to verify funds.”
Swan says all first-time bidders have to get vetted before they’re able to place bids.
“If you are a first time bidder and don’t have history with us and are looking to bid on higher value objects, we do ask for either proof of funds, possibly a deposit, verification, or proof that you have bid at another auction house,” he says. “We’re just making sure that you aren’t going to bid and then walk away from this.”
Jayne has a mountain of legal debt due to the many lawsuits filed against her over the crimes her estranged husband allegedly committed.
Her attorney Evan C. Borges even previously told Page Six, “The fact that Erika has needed assistance from others to pay her bills shows that there is no hidden treasure she ever took for herself that really belongs to the bankruptcy estates of Girardi or Girardi & Keese.”
However, if Jayne would like someone else to purchase the earrings on her behalf — that may be a loophole — but it could be met with more legal complications.
“That is something that we would have to talk to the trustee about because generally speaking you cannot bid on your own property,” Swan tells Page Six. “Even if she was able to be vetted, I think the goal here is to have it sell for as much as possible.”
There may be one last-ditch effort for Jayne to recuperate her earrings via the court system: her appeal.
After a judge ruled in June that Girardi purchased the luxe items with misappropriated funds from his former firm Girardi & Keese, the “Pretty Mess” singer and her lawyers filed an appeal on the verdict in July.
Swan says the attorneys would have to weigh in on how the appeal decision would factor into the auction, however he affirms that all legalities will be “settled” by Dec. 7.
“There will not be a moment in which the [highest bidder] will have to give [the earrings] back,” the John Moran Auctioneer VP says. “The title will be passed to them according to the terms of the bankruptcy court.”
The court granted John Moran Auctioneers — in partnership with 360 Asset Advisors — the right to oversee this auction because they also handled the court-ordered sale of the Girardi’s former residence, have large global reach, a history of selling high-end jewelry and works of art for more than 50 years, and an established relationship with the trustee and estates community in the LA area.
All proceeds of the sale will be turned over to the trustee and then the trustee divides them amongst all of the appropriate parties. The auction house is paid for their services through a buyer’s premium.
Although the live auction starts on Dec. 7 at 1 p.m. ET/ 10 a.m. PT, Swan says there are a “multitude of different ways” that people can place bids from “anywhere in the world.”
“You can bid online if you want — prior to the auction — in what we call an absentee bid,” he explains. “However, on the day of the auction, you can be in the room with a paddle [at the John Moran headquarters in Monrovia, Calif.], and you can bid live online, as well, and watch and hear the auctioneer from home or wherever you are.”
Absentee bids prior to the live auction can be submitted online at JohnMoran.com or in-person at the company’s headquarters starting around Thanksgiving up until Dec. 7.
Each earring is over 7-carats, so in they have a combined total of more than 14-carats.
“They’re near colorless and they have very beautiful clarity,” Keith Burns says. “They’re nice, clean stones and they’re super sparkly. The setting is really lovely. They were in really good condition.”
She concludes, “We’re thrilled to represent them and we’ll do our best on behalf of the people who have entrusted us with them.”
