An iconic gold and diamond ring worn by Jewish jazz icon Sammy Davis Jr is set to go under the hammer.
The gold ring embossed with a yellow-brown 10.75ct diamond will go on sale, with a guide price of between £50,000 and £70,000, in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter later this week.
Davis Jr had a hugely successful career as a dancer, actor, singer and civil rights campaigner. He overcame racial prejudice to entertain millions worldwide.
The gold ring was said to be one of the Rat Pack star’s favourite items wearing it to many performances.
The ring is to go under the hammer in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter this month (Photo: Fellows Auctioneers)
Davis Jr wore the ring to performances across the world, including his tour of Europe in 1985.
The piece of Jewellery has even made an appearance at the White House in 1973 when Davis Jr was invited to a reception by then US president Richard Nixon. He then made history that night by being the first African American to be invited to stay the night by the US president.
The ring will be up for sale alongside a collection of photos of the all-round entertainer at Fellows Auctioneers in Birmingham on August 24.
The ring is expected to make £50,000 to £70,000 at auction (Photo: Fellows Auctioneers)
Lindsay Campbell, jewellery manager at Fellows Auctioneers, said: "I’m delighted to have such a piece of music history in our Fine Jewellery auction.
“When you think of the events where Sammy Davis Jr wore this ring, it is no wonder that this ring has attracted such a lot of attention.
"As well as being a beautiful ring with a stunning diamond set in it, the fact that it is being sold with the photo album means that it is a unique piece of memorabilia which I am sure will be highly coveted by music enthusiasts."
Davis Jr was born in 1925 to a Catholic mother and Baptist father. He later converted to Judaism in 1961 before passing away in 1990.
Sammy Davis Jr wearing the ring on tour (Photo: Fellows Auctioneers)
However, he began to publicly identify as Jewish before formally converting. In 1959, he refused to film scenes for the movie Porgy and Bess on Yom Kippur while Ebony ran a photo of him holding Everyman’s Talmud. He also visiting Israel in the sixties, calling it his "religious home."
In 1989, he wrote in his autobiography that he felt that Jews and African Americans had been treated similarly.
He wrote: “Attracted by the affinity between the Jew and the Negro. The Jews had been oppressed for three thousand years instead of three hundred but the rest was very much the same.”
His wife, Swedish actress May Britt, also converted to Judaism.
