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Imelda Marcos' Jewels Up For Bids

Representatives of Christie's auction house on Thursday began appraising jewelry seized from the widow of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos for auction in Europe as early as November.

The government has firmed up earlier plans to sell Imelda Marcos' jewelry collection, initially estimated to be worth at least $10 million, said Ricardo Abcede, a member of a government commission recovering the Marcos family's allegedly ill-gotten wealth.

Imelda Marcos earlier said she would ask a court to stop the auction, but had not filed a court petition by the time two Christie's gem experts arrived Thursday at the Philippines' Central Bank, where the jewels have been kept in a vault since they were seized following massive street protests that toppled Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

Abcede, a member of the Presidential Commission on Good Government, said it might take two days to complete the inspection and appraisal of the collection, which includes a set of a diamond-encrusted bracelet, earrings and brooch believed to be worth about $1.48 million.

He said he was confident that the courts would throw out any petition by Marcos to stop the sale of the jewelry, and asked her not to take legal action.

"The government needs money to put into the treasury," he said, adding that the proceeds would go to a land reform program to benefit the poor.

But he said the jewelry could still fall into Marcos' hands, because the government cannot ask an auction house to bar her or her representatives from buying it back.

Abcede also showed reporters a diamond-ringed 150.01-carat ruby pendant bigger than his thumb.

A note in a box from a former Marcos aide said it was worth $290,000 when the former first lady once saw it in New York, but could not afford it. It was not immediately clear how and when she ultimately acquired it.

Officials displayed three diamond-studded tiaras, one adorned with large pearls.

The collection includes several expensive Swiss watches and an array of other jewelry, many in rust-stained leather and silk boxes.

The jewelry was taken from leather and metal suitcases, and laid out on a long table.

Abcede said they were shown to the media for the first time to raise collectors' and public interest, and help command a better price.

The bracelet-earrings set, the ruby pendant and the tiaras were part of a jewelry collection seized from the Marcoses in Honolulu, where they fled when the late dictator was ousted.

The Marcoses are believed to have illegally amassed billions of dollars during Ferdinand Marcos' 20-year rule.

Another collection, also to be auctioned, was seized from Demetriou Roumeliotes, a Greek friend of Imelda Marcos who tried to smuggle about 60 pieces of jewelry out of the country less than two weeks after her husband's ouster, the good government commission said.

Abcede said the government hopes to complete the bidding process by Christie's and two other auction houses — Sotheby's and Bonhams — by October, and to have the jewelry auctioned in Geneva in November.

By Teresa Cerojano

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