Health & Fitness
Elizabeth Taylor’s Jewelry Brings $115 Million at Auction; Sets New Record
Liz Taylor Auction raises $115 million
Outpacing all estimates, Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry collection – sometimes referred to as the Crown Jewels of Hollywood – sold for $115 million to set a world record for the most valuable private jewelry collection ever sold at auction.
Among the coveted items was the world-famous La Peregrina pearl, which was estimated to sell at $2 million to $3 million. The 400 bidders and Christie’s staffers cheered when the 50-carat pearl, given to her in 1969 by actor Richard Burton and once part of the Crown Jewels of Spain, sold for $11.8 million.
Bidders showed their eagerness to own a part of the legendary collection by pushing prices far beyond their original estimates. Here are a few examples…
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- A diamond tiara given to Taylor by her husband, Mike Todd, yielded a surprising $4.2 million. Its pre-auction estimate was $80,000.
- Another high-profile item was a diamond bracelet given to Taylor by her dear friend, Michael Jackson. The bracelet was expected to sell for $30,000 to $50,000, but ended up bringing in $194,500.
- The Taj Mahal, an Indian diamond and jade pendant, sold for $8.8 million – more than 16 times its original estimate.
- Capping a spectacular night of bidding was the sale of the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond, which fetched $8.8 million.
The actress, who died this year at age 79, loved gems and jewelry so much that she wrote a book about the subject in 2002. In her book titled “My Love Affair With Jewelry,” Taylor wrote: “I never, never thought of my jewelry as trophies. I’m here to take care of them and to love them. When I die and they go off to auction I hope whoever buys them gives them a really good home.”
Part of the proceeds of the auction will benefit The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, which she established in 1991 to help people living with AIDS.
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The famous La Peregrina pearl, seen here mounted onto a specially commissioned diamond-and-ruby Cartier necklace, sold for $11.8 million.
“We knew [the Elizabeth Taylor auction] would do well, but no one dared dream of $115 million,” said François Curiel, Christie’s international head of jewels. “Probably we will not see another sale like this for many years.”
