The $137 Million Elizabeth Taylor Jewels

RAPAPORT…

The hottest ticket in town was a coveted seat to the
Elizabeth Taylor jewelry auction at Christie’s, held during the height of the
holiday social season in New York City. The sale was indeed quite a show.
Kicking off the proceedings was a black-tie evening event that enticed some
attendees to dress up in evening gowns and other finery to pay homage to one of
the most glamourous movie stars ever as they vied for a chance to own a little
piece of the legend that was Elizabeth Taylor. “This is history; it is all
one-of-a-kind,” gushed a dealer who was observing the auction.

The sale lived up to expectations as 270 lots sold 100
percent for a total of $137,235,675, setting a new world auction record for a
single-owner sale, toppling the $50,281,887 Duchess of Windsor collection —
sold in 1987 at Sotheby’s Geneva — into second place.

The Elizabeth Taylor sale also set seven other auction
records, starting with the highest price ever paid for a pearl when La
Peregrina sold for $11,842,500*, which also made it the top lot of the sale.
The 50.56-carat natural pearl — something that will never be found again — was
a gift from Richard Burton, who purchased it at New York’s Parke-Bernet
Galleries in 1969 for $37,000. Discovered in the 1500s in the Gulf of Panama,
La Peregrina has an enviable pedigree. It was owned by eight Spanish kings as
well as Joseph Bonaparte of France, Prince Louis Napoleon of France and the
Duke and Duchess of Abercorn. Taylor personally worked with the designers at
Cartier to create a necklace for the pendant, which she described as “the most
perfect pearl in the world.”

Extraordinary Collection

The scope of the Elizabeth Taylor jewelry collection was
extraordinary. It included pieces of historical importance, the finest
gemstones and top-name makers — Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier and
Tiffany were some of the most prominent. Perhaps more significantly, Taylor’s
jewelry chronicled the story of her life, with many pieces gifted to her by her
famous husbands and friends. The provenance, coupled with the quality of the
jewelry in this sale, sent prices through the stratosphere. 

“The sale was priced to the inherent value of the pieces,”
said Sally Morrison, spokesperson for the Elizabeth Taylor Trust, which will
receive the proceeds from the auction. “We all hoped, knew and expected high
prices due to provenance, but like everything in Elizabeth’s life, this sale
defied gravity. She was the first woman to make $1 million for a movie, she was
the first to have a celebrity fragrance. This sale was an extension of that.”

Indeed, estimates meant nothing at this sale. It was the
consensus among the trade that the jewelry was estimated low anyway but, with
bidding so competitive, one could barely blink as bids soared past any
reasonable price. “This is the only time in my career that I’ve seen people
bidding so ferociously, jumping from $2 million to $4 million in one bid. I’ve
never seen it before,” marveled François Curiel, international jewelry
director, president of Christie’s Asia and one of the auctioneers at the sale.

Important Stones

Two very noteworthy diamonds tied for second place in the
sale’s top ten list. First was the Taj Mahal diamond, circa 1627 to 1628. The
heart-shaped table cut diamond, in a jade, red stone and diamond mounting,
dangles from a gold and ruby chain by Cartier. It is inscribed with the name
Nur Jahan, who was the wife of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahangir, who later gave
the gem to his son, Shah Jahan. It is believed that Shah Jahan gave the diamond
to his wife, who died four years later, and in whose honor he built the Taj
Mahal. Burton gave this historic piece to Taylor on her fortieth birthday in
1972. It is another irreplaceable gem and it sold for $8,818,500.

Also, selling for $8,818,500, or $265,697 per carat, was the
Elizabeth Taylor diamond ring. The 33.19-carat D, VS1 rectangular cut jewel was
originally named the Krupp Diamond. The ever-generous Burton bought it at
auction from the Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York in 1968 for $300,000. It
was a favorite of Taylor, who wore it almost every day for 30 years. This diamond
set a new record price for a colorless diamond, knocking the 32.01-carat
Annenberg Diamond from its perch of $240,000 per carat, a price garnered at a
Christie’s New York sale in 2009. 

Taylor had a number of very fine colored gemstones in her
collection as well. Her emerald Bulgari necklace, which sold for $6,130,500,
was comprised of some of the finest stones. Christopher P. Smith, president of
the American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) that evaluated the stones, spoke
from firsthand observation of the gems. “The suite of emerald and diamond
jewelry of the Elizabeth Taylor collection are some of her most famous jewels.
She was frequently photographed wearing them. The emerald and diamond necklace
and bracelet from Bulgari had a collection of very fine Muzo emeralds from
Colombia, as well as a number of top-quality Sandawana emeralds from Zimbabwe.
In the early 1960s, Sandawana produced some very fine emeralds and these pieces
clearly denote how well Sandawana emeralds hold up to the top-quality gems from
Muzo,” explained Smith. He also noted that the 52.72-carat cabochon sapphire
set in a medallion necklace by Bulgari was “one of the most exquisite Burma
sapphires I have ever seen.”

All of the biggest, finest and most significant pieces of
Taylor’s collection sold in an 80-lot evening sale that took four and a half
hours to complete — about 20 lots an hour, compared to the usual 50 to 60 lots
an hour at a regular auction. Spectators in the sale room watched in awe as
bidders — mostly on the phone — sent prices over the moon. The evening sale
totaled $115,932,000 for the 80 lots offered that session. But there was more
to come….

The Next Day

The sale continued the following day with another 190 lots
garnering more astronomical prices and tacking on another $21.3 million to
reach the astounding $137.2 million total. The day sale was less crowded and
one did not need a ticket to attend. However, interest was high and bidding
remained very competitive, with 100 percent of the lots on offer sold. While
much of the action came from bidders on the phone and online, there were more
people in the room bidding, including designer Lorraine Schwartz, known for her
Hollywood celebrity clientele. Schwartz bid on some of her pieces that Taylor
had owned, paying dearly to reacquire a diamond bracelet. A few lots later, a
set of three Lorraine Schwartz jade and diamond bangles showed up and she bid
furiously against someone on the phone before bowing out. That someone on the
phone turned out to be reality TV star Kim Kardashian, who told US Weekly
magazine that “Elizabeth Taylor was an idol of mine and I’m honored to now own
something from her collection.”

Perhaps the most coveted items of the day sale were the two
wedding bands that Burton gave Taylor — one for each marriage. After a lengthy
bidding battle that brewed for several minutes between a buyer in the room and
another on the phone — the two rings that were the final lot of the sale sold
for $1,022,500.

 “This truly was
the sale of the century,” concluded Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry, Christie’s
Americas, and an auctioneer at the sale. “And it is a great tribute to one of
the greatest jewelry collectors of our time.”

*All prices include buyer’s premium.

ELIZABETH TAYLOR TOP TEN

SALE TOTAL: 
$137,235,675
World Record for the Most Valuable Collection of Jewels Sold
at Auction
LOTS OFFERED: 270

Sold 100 percent by lot and value

LOT 12
La Peregrina
Natural pearl, diamond, ruby and cultured pearl necklace, Cartier
$11,842,500
World Auction Record for a Pearl Jewel
Buyer: Anonymous

LOT 80
The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond
33.19-carat D, VS1 rectangular
cut
$8,818,500 or $265,697 per carat
World Auction Record for a Colorless Diamond Per Carat
Buyer: Asian Private

LOT 56
Taj Mahal Diamond
$8,818,500
World Auction Record for an Indian Jewel
Buyer: Anonymous

LOT 29
A 23.46-carat emerald and diamond pendant brooch, Bulgari
$6,578,500 or $280,000 per carat
World Auction Record for an Emerald Jewel and for an Emerald
Per Carat
Buyer: Anonymous

LOT 28
An Emerald and Diamond Necklace, Bulgari
$6,130,500
Buyer: Anonymous

LOT 72
Sapphire and Diamond Sautoir, Bulgari
$5,906,500
Buyer: Anonymous

LOT 77
An 8.24-carat Ruby and Diamond Ring, Van Cleef & Arpels
$4,226,500 or $512,925 per carat
World Auction Record for a Ruby Per Carat
Buyer: U.S. Private

LOT 79
The Mike Todd Diamond Tiara
$4,226,500
Buyer: U.S. Private

LOT 31
Emerald and Diamond Bracelet, Bulgari
$4,002,500
Buyer: U.S. Private

LOT 76
Ruby and Diamond Necklace, Cartier
$3,778,500
Buyer: International Trade

LOT 11 (Not in the top ten, but world record price)
Natural Pearl and Diamond Ear Pendants, Bulgari
$1,986,500
World Auction Record for a Pair of Natural Pearl Ear Pendants