Shirley Temple's Blue Diamond Ring Could Soon Be Yours

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A blue diamond ring that child star-turned-diplomat Shirley Temple wore for decades is going up for auction.

Sotheby's says the 9.54 carat ring is among the more than 300 lots in the "Magnificent Jewels'' auction scheduled for April 19 in New York. It has a pre-sale estimate of between $25 million and $35 million.

Sotheby's says Temple's father bought the cushion-cut stone for her around her 12th birthday in 1940 for $7,210. She wore it throughout her life, as can be seen in a photograph from The Associated Press from September 1969.

"They are incredibly rare," Sotheby's jewelry specialist Frank Everett told The Hollywood Reporter. "And to see one like this where the colors are just so beautiful and even and special is amazing just to hold in your hand."

Temple died in February 2014 at the age of 85.

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