Ethical Diamonds

Published on 10/12/09

It wasn't your usual holiday shopping scene in midtown last night, as Bulgari took over Christie's for an auction to benefit Save the Children. To close out its 125th anniversary year, the jeweler uncorked some Champagne and put a collection that's been making the global rounds—Rome, Beijing, Dubai—on the block in New York.

Ricky Martin arrived sporting some do-gooder bling: a silver Bulgari ring ($290) for the charity's Rewrite the Future campaign. No diamond studs? "I'm not there yet," the singer said. Before the auction, the lots were unveiled in a side room, where Morgan Fairchild posed for fan photos and Jessica Lange listened to a Christie's gemstone expert explain the differences between ruby and spinel.

The crown jewels, so to speak, of the evening's 18 lots included a diamond Lucea choker from the jeweler's Gisele campaign, which commanded $270,000; the extremely colorful closing lot was a sapphire and diamond bib necklace that went for $350,000. Before guests headed out to the dinner and after-party at Monkey Bar, it was announced that Bulgari had raised a total of $1,546,500. And the company will be working with Save the Children again next year.