What happens when Hollywood beauty loses a diamond bracelet which does not belong to her? The shine is quickly replaced by a whine. When she arrived to present an award at the Children's Baftas, Kelly Brook undoubtedly claimed the crown...
crown as the event's most glamorous guest. She wore a striking Forties-style beaded frock and a show-stopping pair of diamond loop earrings loaned to her by luxury jeweller Harry Winston.
In fact, Miss Brook should have looked even more impressive. But one important item was missing from her ensemble: a £50,000 diamond-encrusted bracelet which the actress had somehow-managed to lose before the event. The 27-year-old - Strictly Come Dancing's new star had picked up the triple-diamond loop earrings and the glittering bracelet from Harry Winston's New Bond Street store in London a few days before the Bafta ceremony last year.
Unable to resist the temptation, Miss Brook, who is engaged to American actor Billy Zane, decided to show off the bracelet at a private party she attended a couple of days before the Bafta bash. But she was horrified when she realised she had lost the bracelet at the party - and even more horrified when Harry Winston insisted she paid for the lost piece because it was not insured.
Months of wrangling ensued, and despite assurances from Miss Brook's spokesman yesterday that the matter was being handled 'amicably' with the American jeweller, it has still not been resolved nearly 11 months after the bracelet vanished.
Other close sources said the relationship between star and jeweller, who set up shop in Britain for the first time last year, had become tense. A source said: 'There was a situation with the bracelet which went on and on because Kelly refused to pay the money for it. The whole thing got really awkward and embarrassing.
'She borrowed the jewellery to wear at the Children's Baftas but wore the bracelet to another event, a private function, and that was where she lost it.
'Usually jewellery firms would insure items to protect them if they get lost, but for some reason Harry Winston hadn't done that. Perhaps it was because they were new jewellers to London and didn't have a proper system in place and didn't usually lend jewellery to celebrities.
'Kelly knew that they weren't insured. She did eventually wear the other items at the Children's Baftas but obviously not the bracelet. Kelly was horrified. She was looking for it for ages but there was no sign of it.
Harry Winston - immortalised in the Marilyn Monroe song Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend - is renowned for loaning diamonds to celebrities for red-carpet events and has become synonymous with the Oscars ceremony. The firm regularly lends astonishing amounts of diamonds to the actresses and hosts, worth £100 million last year. The stars are usually accompanied by one or two bodyguards supplied by the jeweller.'
A spokesman for Harry Winston's New Bond Street store said: 'I cannot confirm or deny that we have an association with Kelly Brook.
'She has worn Harry Winston in the past but any association we have has to remain confidential.'
Lacklustre celebs
Sophie Dahl
THE model was distraught after losing a £125,000 earring loaned by Italian jewellery designer Bruce Hoeksema at a banquet to celebrate the opening of the New York Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute. Miss Dahl, some of the assembled celebrities and security guards searched the floor for the jewel. Hoeksema was said to be furious but understanding about the loss.
Sophie Anderton
The former Wonderbra model got into hot water with the jewellers Boodles after borrowing a £26,000 bracelet for her 29th birthday party. The bracelet went missing after the event and the jewellers were reported to have 'handed the matter over to their lawyers'.
Lindsay Lohan
The 21-year-old actress lost a bracelet from Cartier which she had been lent for the World Music Awards in November last year. An assistant managed to leave an envelope containing £25,000 worth of jewels in the back of a cab in New York last year.
Peaches Geldof