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Offline - Registered: 17/5/2017
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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
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.