Anna Nicole Smith's Lost Treasure

Jewelry tales of the rich and famous never cease to amaze me - from the extravagant acquisitions of New York's tony billionaires (Brooke Astor, et al) to celebrity jewelry boxes full of baubles worth more than our mortgages.

The latest entry in the latter category concerns the late Anna Nicole Smith, whose financial woes were well-reported following the death of her gazillionaire 'husband' back in the 90s. According to government files just released from the starlet's 1996 bankruptcy proceedings, Smith apparently lost some $2.7 million in jewelry.

Yes. Lost.

Among the pieces listed was a ring with three diamonds, including one weighing 8.45 carats(!), and a platinum necklace with 226 diamonds, totaling nearly 74 carats. Together, the two pieces alone were valued at nearly a half-million dollars. Their whereabouts were never determined, and it is not known if the pieces were stolen or if Anna just 'misplaced' them in a drug-induced haze.

Can you believe this? How does someone just 'lose' millions of dollars in jewels? This isn't your run-of-the-mill missing earring down the bathroom sink or tennis bracelet that breaks while you're out on the town, folks. Oi!

Tragic as her accidental death was, equally as tragic is how someone can be so out of it that they treat valuables we mere mortals would kill for with such nonchalance. What do you guys think? Am I being too harsh? Maybe it's good I have the Grammy Awards to distract me this weekend.

Ommmmmmmm......