De Grisogono Joins AMFAR in Fight Against AIDS

Luxury jewelry house de Grisogono has stepped up its support of AIDS research by co-sponsoring the AMFAR "Cinema Against AIDS" charity event held in Rome October 2007.

The Rome event, held at the Spazio Etoile, was of its kind for Italy. Fashioned after the hugely successful dinner shows at the Cannes Film Festival since 1993, the newest charity event was also a great success: over a million US dollars were donated to AMFAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research.

The gala event included a cocktail party and lavish dinner followed by an auction. Later, the evening continued at the Palazzo Fendi. The celebrity support was also magnanimous with Sharon Stone leading the pack - she is currently presiding over AMFAR. American actress, director and producer Sofia Coppola was also in attendance as was actress Mira Sorvino, Asia Argento, Valeria Golino, princess and French actress Clotilde Courau and her husband Prince Emmanuel de Savoie.

One of the items that went up for auction was a gorgeous pair of de Grisogono earrings (pictured here). Sharon Stone even wore the earrings while they were being auctioned. These high jewelry earrings include 178 11-carat amethysts, 68 3.95-carat pink sapphires, 120 9.35-carat orange sapphires and 44 0.50-carat white diamonds set in white gold. These de Grisogono earrings fetched an impressive $55,000 US dollars - all of which was given to AMFAR. AMFAR has donated over 260 million dollars in the fight against AIDS since 195.

With its first-time support of "Cinema Against AIDS," de Grisogono affirms its commitment to fighting the AIDS epidemic. Chariman and founder Fawaz Gruosi has previously supported AIDS related research; a month prior to the AMFAR event in Rome, he was guest of honor at the 6th annual "Enduring Vision" event held by the Elton John AIDS Foundation.