09/7/2023 2:08 pm  #1


Bing’s antique collecting

A mention in the Telegraph newspaper (UK).
Fame & Fortune: Antiques Roadshow’s Geoffrey Munn on selling to the rich and famous
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/fame-fortune/bbc-antiques-roadshow-jewellery-expert-sold-frank-sinatra/

Geoffrey Munn OBE, 70, is a jewellery specialist, historian and writer, perhaps best known as a jewellery expert on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow.

Did you meet many famous clients?
Frank Sinatra was a regular customer and bought several Fabergé pieces. I remember marvelling at his steely blue eyes, heavy make-up and thick toupee; he certainly wasn’t a sex bomb by his late 50s.

Bing Crosby was much more puckish and animated. He bought two pieces, including a Russian gold cigarette case bearing the Romanov crown, and a William IV presentation box.

He was thrilled with his purchases, but they were stolen almost immediately. The theft tainted everyone, including Wartski, but several months later I spotted Crosby’s treasures in an antique shop in Jermyn Street and they were happily reunited with their owner.

Joan Rivers was another loyal customer, because she had a keen interest in Fabergé, although she always dropped in under her married name, Mrs Rosenberg.

As the latter, she was quietly modest with impeccable manners. I longed to lure her anarchic alter ego out of the genie bottle, but to no avail.

 

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