From dental work to Oscar

FROM 600 000-dollar diamonds to the gold dental bridge of someone's dead grandmother, down-at-heel Hollywood stars are hocking their most precious heirlooms to pay for their face lifts or divorces.

Pawn shop owner Jeanne Zimmelman has seen just about everything pass through her sumptuous office in the heart of Beverly Hills, one of the ritziest areas of Los Angeles and home to a constellation of celebrities.

Some of the best known faces in the world have been reduced by temporary hard times to discreetly pawning their Oscars or their engagement rings to get over a rough patch, she says.

But her business is no traditional high street pawn shop with three balls hanging above the door. It's a luxurious third-floor office filled with showcases packed with glittering treasures.

"We have a lot of wealthy, high-end people; they just get in cash crunch situations, maybe they might have shopped a little too much on Rodeo Drive," said Zimmelman, who has run the Beverly Loan Co for 16 years.

The reasons why stars that appear to be fabulously wealthy need to pawn their valuables for cash are multiple: some have fallen from their box office pinnacles, some need urgent plastic surgery to keep their appeal, others simply need to pay off a divorce settlement.

The split-ups of Hollywood couples is also notoriously costly, with huge lawyers' bills and alimony to be paid, often when estates are tied up, forcing some stars to pawn their valuables to meet immediate expenses.

"Then, once the divorce is over they can't wait to get rid of their jewellery. There's the karma thing, bad karma for them but not for the next person," she says.

Among the items she has taken as security are diamond-studded daggers, jade-encrusted swords, a $7 000 diamond-filled illuminated hourglass from De Beers, tons of jewellery and even a gold dental bridge.

"I accepted it, I didn't want to touch it. The guy was very nice, he said to me: don't worry my grandmother's been dead for years. That was very funny, but also a little creepy," chuckled Zimmelman.

The most expensive item she has handled was a giant 65 carat diamond engagement ring for which she loaned its high-profile owner a whopping $600000.

The stars however no longer turn up in person, wearing dark glasses and clutching an armful of jewellery as they once did, Zimmelman revealed. Instead they send their business managers.

But while Zimmelman says she has helped out some of Tinseltown's most famous sons and daughters, she will not reveal their identities.

"Our business is built on discretion, people who come here don't want to be seen," she said. "Dead or alive, I don't give names and there are some great names." -- Sapa-AFP