Editor’s Note
Elizabeth Taylor’s lifelong passion for jewelry was legendary, famously sparked by the sight of a ring in her infancy. This anecdote, along with Richard Burton’s witty remark about her love for Bulgari, captures the dazzling essence of her iconic collection.
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Elizabeth Taylor once said that her obsession with jewelry began as a baby, when she opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was an engagement ring: “I was hooked.” Her love for diamonds only grew, and led her then husband Richard Burton to quip, ‘The only word Elizabeth knows in Italian is “Bulgari’”.
When she died in 2011, her collection—including a 19th-century diamond tiara from husband Mike Todd and the 33.19-carat Krupp diamond from Burton—sold for more than $137 million. She had previously sold the 69.42-carat Taylor-Burton diamond, a gift for her 40th birthday, for a reported $5 million, and used some of the proceeds to build a hospital in Botswana. Burton had initially bought it for $1.1 million.
In 1969, Burton presented her with La Peregrina, one of the largest pear-shaped pearls in existence. Within hours it was lost in their Las Vegas hotel suite.
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So where did her precious jewels mostly end up? Some were bought back by houses like Cartier and Bulgari at the 2011 Christie’s estate auction, and some ended up in private collections. The Krupp diamond, later named the Elizabeth Taylor diamond, was purchased by a representative of the Korean E-Land Group for $8.8 million and was planned to be placed on display at its E-World theme park in the town of Daegu.
The pear-shaped Taylor-Burton diamond, seen below, was 69.4 cts, bought by Richard Burton in 1969. It’s now owned by Robert Mouawad. It has not been publicly seen since 1979.
The Krupp diamond below, later renamed the Elizabeth Taylor diamond, was 33 cts and a gift from Richard Burton in 1968. It’s owned by the South Korean conglomerate E-Land group.
The Cartier ruby-and- diamond necklace below was a gift from Mike Todd in 1957.
The Cartier Collection bought it back at the Christie’s auction in 2011, for $3.8 million.
In 2013, Julianne Moore donned the emerald Bulgari necklace Burton gave to Taylor. Bulgari bought it back at the 2011 auction, and has loaned it on occasion to other celebrities.
La Peregrina Pearl, gifted to Taylor by Richard Burton, was discovered in 1516, and was once part of the Spanish Crown Jewels and worn by royals like Mary I of England. It is 56 cts and sold in 2011 for $11.8 million. It’s now owned by a private buyer and held in a private collection.