Jewels of Designer to be Sold for Homeless

Jewelry and valuables belonging to eccentric German fashion designer Rudolph Moshammer, who was found strangled to death in January, are to go under the hammer in Amsterdam on September 13 in aid of the homeless, auction house Sotheby's said on Tuesday. A broach encrusted with diamonds and rubies, said by Moshammer to have been given to Argentinian First Lady Evita Peron in 1945 as a wedding present, and a pair of Cartier earrings worn by his mother are among 40 lots worth between 80,000 to 90,000 euros ($97,000 to $110,000 dollars), Sotheby's said. Moshammer, 64, bequeathed the contents of his villa to his beloved dog, but organized for his jewelry collection and valuables to be auctioned in favor of homeless charities he supported during his lifetime. Rudolph Moshammer, known affectionately as "Mosi" and the "Tsar of Fashion," counted a number of personalities from the world of entertainment among his clientele, including former actor and present governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Catalan opera singer Jose Carreras. A 25-year-old Iraqi man confessed to strangling Moshammer to death in January this year over a dispute about money owed to him for sexual favors.