Mae West: Classic Gems

Some of the jewelry once owned by MAE WEST is in good hands, it seems.
• • "Mae West's jewelry finds its way to Boulder store" • •
• • Famous pieces have surprising story of heroism • •
• • Aimee Heckel, Staff Writer, wrote: Only a handful of times have I seen something so beautiful that it brought me to tears.  . . . A sparkling collection of Hollywood star Mae West's real jewelry.   The last one was just a few days ago, at Classic Facets jewelry store in downtown Boulder.  Few people get to see these jewels. They're locked away in a safety deposit box far from the public eye. They're too special — and too expensive — to leave out on display, the store says.
• • Aimee Heckel wrote:  "We've never had anything like this, ever," says Mikki Rainey, with the store. "It's an incredible opportunity for history, but I can't put it on display without paying a fortune in increased insurance and an armed guard."
• • Aimee Heckel continued:  Yes, the necklace, bracelet and watch are beyond stunning. They came to Boulder this summer from a Texas jeweler, along with a huge stack of paperwork, appraisals, photos and newspaper clippings to prove their authenticity. They've never been cleaned; they still contain the actress's DNA on them, Rainey says.
• • Aimee Heckel observed:  But that's not what makes them stunning.  What makes them beautiful is the four largest gems in the necklace.  Fakes.  They used to be 5.5- to 9.4-carat diamonds, totaling nearly 30 carats, but were replaced with big, shiny glass imitation diamonds in the 1940s.  You would think this would decrease the value of the piece, but that's what makes it so spectacular. 
• • Aimee Heckel wrote:   As the books and archives tell, West sold her four biggest diamonds during World War II, to raise money to donate to help fight the Nazis.  Turning Ms. "Diamond Lil" into her own kind of wartime hero.  Rainey says the real diamonds went to Switzerland, leaving West with glass replicas. . . .
• • Source:  Article "Mae West's jewelry finds its way to Boulder store" written by Aimee Heckel for Daily Camera; published on Friday, 29 July 2016.
• • On Monday, 10 August 1936 • •
• • Production of "Klondike Annie" starring Mae West began on Monday, 10 August 1936 and was finished by September.
• • On Sunday, 10 August 1980 • •
• • Oh, dear Mae! It was one week before Mae West celebrated her eighty-seventh birthday. But on Sunday, 10 August 1980, she tumbled out of bed.
• • Save the Date: Wednesday, 17 August 2016 • •

• • Mae West: New Yorker, Vaudevillian, Upstart, and Jailbird — — a Birthday Celebration! • •
• • Link:  Mae West event on August 17, 2016
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • A party of 50 AIF and RAAF officers and men went up last night and saw Mae West in person. Previously they had attended a lavish new Broadway show, "Catherine Was Great," in which she portrays the celebrated Russian Empress.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I'm not really a hotsy-totsy dame — I'm a serious business woman. A lot of women make dough by exposing their torso. But I make more by doing nothing of the sort. I just keep 'em guessing.''
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A German festival mentioned Mae West.
• • VolksFest wrote:  "Hollywood's Golden Years" to be held in Berlin from July 19 — August 10, 1969 — A great party will be enacted on the stage, complete with the mad antics of Laurel and Hardy, heroes and villains, and the Keystone Cops. For an interlude between Part One and Part Two, there will be a Charleston number and the entrance of Mae West, one of the great legendary movie figures ...
• • Source: Article: "VolksFest" press kit, item written for The Berlin Observer; published on 9 July 1969
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 12th anniversary • •
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past twelve years. The other day we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started twelve years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3505th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in court for writing a gay play, 1930 • •
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