Editor’s Note
This article explores the enduring legacy of Elizabeth Taylor’s legendary jewelry collection, which fetched $137 million at auction. It offers a glimpse into her personal connection with these treasures and questions where they reside today.
Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry was auctioned for $137 million. Where are the legendary jewels today?
Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011) loved her jewels so much that she would get up at night just to look at them.
When the diva suffered from insomnia, she would go to her jewelry room and rearrange her gemstones—simply to gaze at them.
When Taylor died in 2011 at the age of 79, she left behind one of the most spectacular jewelry collections Hollywood had ever seen. Her jewels were auctioned at Christie’s in New York for an incredible $137 million, as reported by Rapaport, among others. But where did the sparkling treasures of the screen legend end up? The answer leads from auction houses to private collectors and onto today’s red carpets.
One of the most famous pieces resurfaced this week: At the premiere of “Wuthering Heights,” 35-year-old Margot Robbie wore the legendary Taj Mahal diamond necklace around her neck. The $8 million piece was a gift from husband Richard Burton (1925-1984) for Taylor’s 40th birthday in 1972. The diamond is said to have once belonged to Shah Jahan (1592-1666)—the ruler who built the Taj Mahal mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal (1593-1631) on the outskirts of Agra in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Burton commented on his gift at the time with typical humor: He would have liked to buy Taylor the real Taj Mahal, but the transportation would have been too expensive. At the 2011 auction, the necklace fetched $8.8 million—but the buyer later requested a refund due to doubts about its provenance. According to court documents, the parties eventually agreed to re-auction the piece.
Not all jewels are still visible today. The massive 69.4-carat Taylor-Burton diamond, which Burton acquired in 1969, now belongs to Robert Mouawad. It has not been publicly displayed since 1979—a phantom among the world’s most famous diamonds, as reported by Mail Online.
The situation is different for pieces repurchased by major jewelry houses. Bulgari secured an emerald necklace at the auction that Burton had once given to his wife. The house has since loaned it to celebrities—65-year-old Julianne Moore wore it in 2013. Cartier also stepped in and repurchased a ruby and diamond necklace for $3.8 million, which Taylor’s third husband Mike Todd (1909-1958) had once given her. Taylor had described the piece as “like the sun, illuminated and made of red fire.”
Particularly rich in history is the La Peregrina Pearl: Discovered in 1516, the 56-carat jewel was once part of the Spanish Crown Jewels and adorned queens such as Mary I of England (1516-1558). Burton won it at auction for Taylor; in 2011, it changed hands again for $11.8 million. Today it rests in a private collection—hidden from the public.
The Krupp Diamond, later renamed the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond, went to the Korean E-Land Group. At $8.8 million, it set a record price per carat for a colorless diamond.
That the diva’s jewels continue to sparkle on red carpets would surely have pleased Taylor. Last year, 45-year-old Kim Kardashian appeared at Balenciaga’s Paris Fashion Week show wearing Taylor’s imposing chandelier earrings. The diamonds, a gift from Mike Todd from 1957, are valued at $400,000. Jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz had loaned them to the reality queen.
Elizabeth Taylor, ranked by the American Film Institute as the seventh-greatest female screen legend, left behind more than unforgettable roles in “Giant” (1956), “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958), or “Cleopatra” (1963).