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Elizabeth Taylor's gems set for auction
Source: Agencies |
September 8, 2011, Thursday
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ELIZABETH Taylor dazzled the world with her luminous beauty, lavish lifestyle - and a passion for jewels that was fueled by the great loves of her life.
The late Hollywood star amassed one of the foremost jewelry collections in the world, including a 33-carat diamond ring and a 16th century pear-shaped pearl from one of her seven husbands, actor Richard Burton.
Christie's auction house is selling her complete jewelry collection, valued at US$30 million, in New York in December.
Christie's jewelry expert Rahul Kadakia said: "These are the top jewels Elizabeth Taylor received from the great loves of her life, Mike Todd and Richard Burton."
The stories behind them are as priceless as the gems themselves. In a 2002 memoir, "My Love Affair with Jewelry," Taylor took readers on a personal journey of her collection, describing in her own words how she came to own each piece.
"I never, never thought of my jewelry as trophies," she wrote. "I am 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."
It is an extraordinary collection of rubies, diamonds, emeralds and sapphires in intricate and bold designs.
Those that stand out include the 16th-century La Peregrina, one of the largest and most symmetrically perfect pear-shaped pearls in the world, which Burton bought for Taylor in 1969 as a Valentine's Day gift.
The two had met in Italy on the set of the 1963 film "Cleopatra," and married for the first time in 1964.
Once part of the crown jewels of Spain, the pearl later passed through the hands of Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon III and the Duke of Abercorn. When it was auctioned in New York, Burton snapped it up for US$37,000, outbidding a member of the Spanish royal family.
Cartier later created a ruby and diamond necklace from which the pearl was suspended, a design that was inspired by the famous Velazquez portraits of Spain's Queen Margarita and Queen Isabel wearing the pearl as a necklace.
It is estimated it will fetch between US$2 million and US$3 million.
Taylor, who was married eight times - twice to Burton - died in March aged 79. The couple appeared together in about a dozen films, including Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", in which Taylor played an alcoholic shrew in an emotionally sado-masochistic marriage.
Burton loved historical pieces, and in 1972 bought the famous 17th-century Taj Mahal diamond pendant for Taylor's 40th birthday.
The heart-shaped diamond is associated with one of history's greatest love stories. It belonged to Emperor Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife who died in childbirth. It is etched with a Persian inscription that reads "For my beloved Mahal."
"I would have liked to buy her the Taj Mahal but it would cost too much to transport," Burton remarked after acquiring it.
The necklace has a pre-sale estimate of US$300,000 to US$500,000.
The late Hollywood star amassed one of the foremost jewelry collections in the world, including a 33-carat diamond ring and a 16th century pear-shaped pearl from one of her seven husbands, actor Richard Burton.
Christie's auction house is selling her complete jewelry collection, valued at US$30 million, in New York in December.
Christie's jewelry expert Rahul Kadakia said: "These are the top jewels Elizabeth Taylor received from the great loves of her life, Mike Todd and Richard Burton."
The stories behind them are as priceless as the gems themselves. In a 2002 memoir, "My Love Affair with Jewelry," Taylor took readers on a personal journey of her collection, describing in her own words how she came to own each piece.
"I never, never thought of my jewelry as trophies," she wrote. "I am 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."
It is an extraordinary collection of rubies, diamonds, emeralds and sapphires in intricate and bold designs.
Those that stand out include the 16th-century La Peregrina, one of the largest and most symmetrically perfect pear-shaped pearls in the world, which Burton bought for Taylor in 1969 as a Valentine's Day gift.
The two had met in Italy on the set of the 1963 film "Cleopatra," and married for the first time in 1964.
Once part of the crown jewels of Spain, the pearl later passed through the hands of Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon III and the Duke of Abercorn. When it was auctioned in New York, Burton snapped it up for US$37,000, outbidding a member of the Spanish royal family.
Cartier later created a ruby and diamond necklace from which the pearl was suspended, a design that was inspired by the famous Velazquez portraits of Spain's Queen Margarita and Queen Isabel wearing the pearl as a necklace.
It is estimated it will fetch between US$2 million and US$3 million.
Taylor, who was married eight times - twice to Burton - died in March aged 79. The couple appeared together in about a dozen films, including Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", in which Taylor played an alcoholic shrew in an emotionally sado-masochistic marriage.
Burton loved historical pieces, and in 1972 bought the famous 17th-century Taj Mahal diamond pendant for Taylor's 40th birthday.
The heart-shaped diamond is associated with one of history's greatest love stories. It belonged to Emperor Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife who died in childbirth. It is etched with a Persian inscription that reads "For my beloved Mahal."
"I would have liked to buy her the Taj Mahal but it would cost too much to transport," Burton remarked after acquiring it.
The necklace has a pre-sale estimate of US$300,000 to US$500,000.
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