Last night, Christie’s held part one of their Elizabeth Taylor auction, selling off her extensive jewelry collection in New York City. In total, the jewels sold for $116 million, more than twice that of any other private jewelry collection.
Taylor wrote in her book, My Love Affair With Jewelry, “I never, never thought of my jewelery 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.” If nothing else, their homes will be lavish. The first item up for sale was a gold charm bracelet that sold for more than 13 times its estimated worth, a trend that continued as Cartier necklaces went for 20 times their worth and Bulgari bracelets eighteen. As Constance Francesca Gabor Hilton, Zsa Zsa Gabor’s daughter, told The Telegraph, “If you’ve got money, why not?”
The 33.29 carat diamond ring that Richard Burton gave Taylor in 1968—and that she wore almost daily—fetched $8.8 million, but it was La Peregrina, a 50.6 carat drop-shaped pearl hailing from a line of Spanish kings that Burton bought for $37,000 in 1969 that earned the highest bid: $11.8 million. The auctions will continue today with more jewels and Taylor’s collection of haute couture.
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