necklace and wins

Johnstown businessman J. Dennis Petimezas, owner of the famed diamond and president of Watchmaker’s Diamonds and Jewelry, is in Hollywood in anticipation that Huffman will choose his necklace to wear at Sunday’s ceremonies.“I will just say she has been approached,” a secretive Petimezas said by telephone from his Los Angeles hotel room.While Petimezas wouldn’t confirm Huffman will be wearing the necklace, reports in USA Today said the actress is tempted to don the $2 million treasure. People will just have to tune in Sunday night to see if Huffman is wearing the Johnstown jewel.Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart will host the 78th annual awards show, which will be broadcast at 8 p.m. on ABC. It will be preceded by a one-hour red-carpet arrivals show.The curse of the diamond is said to be responsible for three deaths.If Huffman chooses to wear the necklace and wins the Oscar, the curse theory could vanish.Petimezas said black diamonds are rare. Only one of every 10,000 diamonds that are mined has color.“It’s not the largest black diamond in the world, but it is the most famous,” the jeweler said.Perhaps it also is the most infamous.Known as the Black Orlov, or “The Eye of Brahma,” the jewel is haunted by a curse that reportedly began when the original 195-carat diamond was removed from a Hindu shrine in southern India.The diamond is tied to the deaths of three former owners who apparently killed themselves.In an attempt to break the curse, the diamond was re-cut into three separate gems and since has been owned by a succession of private owners, all of whom seem to have escaped the curse.Petimezas’ research has found no reported tragedies linked to the diamond since 1947.The legend of the 67.5-carat Black Orlov may scare off some, but Huffman has shown her mettle in her acclaimed performance of a pre-operative transsexual – the part for which she received the Oscar nomination.Huffman, the star of “Transamerica,” received her first Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Bree Osbourne, who has been living successfully as a woman and is preparing for her sexual reassignment surgery.Her chances of winning an Oscar are considered favorable because she won a Golden Globe this year for the performance.Petimezas said the necklace was on display Thursday and today during pre-Oscar festivities at the Mondrain Hotel Penthouse, where celebrities could view more than $12 million worth of glitter provided by 25 jewelers.The jewelry displayed in the Platinum Guild jewelry suite is intended to give celebrities an opportunity to borrow pieces for the weekend’s festivities.