Elizabeth Taylor jewelry
The hottest ticket in town was a coveted seat to the Elizabeth Taylor jewelry auction at Christie’s, held during the height of the holiday social season in New York City. The sale was indeed quite a show. Kicking off the proceedings was a black-tie evening event that enticed some attendees to dress up in evening gowns and other finery to pay homage to one of the most glamourous movie stars ever as they vied for a chance to own a little piece of the legend that was Elizabeth Taylor. “This is history; it is all one-of-a-kind,” gushed a dealer who was observing the auction.
The sale lived up to expectations as 270 lots sold 100 percent for a total of $137,235,675, setting a new world auction record for a single-owner sale, toppling the $50,281,887 Duchess of Windsor collection — sold in 1987 at Sotheby’s Geneva — into second place.
The Elizabeth Taylor sale also set seven other auction records, starting with the highest price ever paid for a pearl when La Peregrina sold for $11,842,500*, which also made it the top lot of the sale. The 50.56-carat natural pearl — something that will never be found again — was a gift from Richard Burton, who purchased it at New York’s Parke-Bernet Galleries in 1969 for $37,000. Discovered in the 1500s in the Gulf of Panama, La Peregrina has an enviable pedigree. It was owned by eight Spanish kings as well as Joseph Bonaparte of France, Prince Louis Napoleon of France and the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn. Taylor personally worked with the designers at Cartier to create a necklace for the pendant, which she described as “the most perfect pearl in the world.”
Extraordinary Collection
The scope of the Elizabeth Taylor jewelry collection was extraordinary. It included pieces of historical importance, the finest gemstones and top-name makers — Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier and Tiffany were some of the most prominent. Perhaps more significantly, Taylor’s jewelry chronicled the story of her life, with many pieces gifted to her by her famous husbands and friends. The provenance, coupled with the quality of the jewelry in this sale, sent prices through the stratosphere.
“The sale was priced to the inherent value of the pieces,” said Sally Morrison, spokesperson for the Elizabeth Taylor Trust, which will receive the proceeds from the auction. “We all hoped, knew and expected high prices due to provenance, but like everything in Elizabeth’s life, this sale defied gravity. She was the first woman to make $1 million for a movie, she was the first to have a celebrity fragrance. This sale was an extension of that.”Indeed, estimates meant nothing at this sale. It was the consensus among the trade that the jewelry was estimated low anyway but, with bidding so competitive, one could barely blink as bids soared past any reasonable price. “This is the only time in my career that I’ve seen people bidding so ferociously, jumping from $2 million to $4 million in one bid. I’ve never seen it before,” marveled François Curiel, international jewelry director, president of Christie’s Asia and one of the auctioneers at the sale.
Important Stones
Two very noteworthy diamonds tied for second place in the sale’s top ten list. First was the Taj Mahal diamond, circa 1627 to 1628. The heart-shaped table cut diamond, in a jade, red stone and diamond mounting, dangles from a gold and ruby chain by Cartier. It is inscribed with the name Nur Jahan, who was the wife of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahangir, who later gave the gem to his son, Shah Jahan. It is believed that Shah Jahan gave the diamond to his wife, who died four years later, and in whose honor he built the Taj Mahal. Burton gave this historic piece to Taylor on her fortieth birthday in 1972. It is another irreplaceable gem and it sold for $8,818,500.
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