Elizabeth Taylor's Jewels Fetch Nearly 116 Million Dollars at Auction!

By all accounts, the first night of the Collection of Elizabeth Taylor auction was a true success. The sales of Miss Taylor’s most iconic gems didn’t just exceed their estimates; they smashed them reaching a grand total of nearly 116 million dollars. Now in order to put that number into perspective, we are talking about the sale of a mere 80 pieces of jewelry which were estimated to achieve just over $30 million dollars. In fact, only two items were sold for amounts within their auction estimates. That’s quite the performance for the famed baubles.

In addition to soaring prices, several records were broken last evening including the record for the sale of a private collection of jewels. Other records broken included the price of a single pearl, the per carat price for a colorless diamond, the price for an Indian jewel, and the price of ruby per carat.

However, among all of those records, the brightest star was surprisingly La Peregrina Pearl. Now if you read our blog regularly you will remember the story of the fabled 16^th century pearl, but a quick recap for those who might have missed it. The pearl is approximately 50 carats in size and is known as one of the most important pearls in history. Found in the 1500’s, the pear shaped pearl has been a part of the Crown Jewels of Spain, worn by British Queen Mary I, stolen by Joseph Bonaparte, and finally gracing the neck of Elizabeth Taylor . Richard Burton bought the pearl for Elizabeth in 1969 and it became the subject of one of her more hilarious anecdotes when one of her dog was found to be using the pearl as a chew toy! Last night, the pearl shattered estimates of $2 to $3 million, selling for a staggering 11.8 million dollars. The lustrous pearl even outshone it’s more famous rival, the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond which sold for $8.8 million shooting past its own $2.5 to $3.5 million estimate.

Photo : Christie's Images Ltd

Other record breakers included the Taj Mahal Diamond which was given to Elizabeth Taylor by Richard Burton for her 40^th birthday. The heart-shaped diamond is reported to have been owned by Indian emperor Shah Jahan who presented it as a gift to his beloved wife Mumtaz-i-Mahal. On her death he was so grief stricken that he had the magnificent Taj Mahal built to honor her memory. The estimates for the diamond were a mere $300,000 - $500,000, and I’m sure you can guess where I’m going with this one. The symbol of one of the most powerful and romantic love stories ever told sold for $8.8 million, pretty much blowing its estimates out of the water.

Photo : Christie's Images Ltd

Nervous laughter could be heard echoing through the hall as the numbers started breezing past estimates without pause. Even items that didn’t break records still sold for amounts that were spectacularly higher than their estimates including this beautiful Sapphire and Diamond Sautoir which smashed its estimate of $800,000 by selling for $5.9 million.

Photo : Christie's Images Ltd.

When asked why the estimates were so off the mark, Christie’s jewelry expert Francois Curiel stated that items were priced according to their “intrinsic value”, not factoring in the price hike that association with Elizabeth Taylor would give. “We wanted to let the market decide what premium to pay over the value of the stones … or the value of the jewels,” he said. 

Well, it would appear that Elizabeth Taylor added extreme value to her jewels, moving them into a price range far beyond most mere mortal’s pocketbooks. It would appear that everything she touched turned to gold as even her unknown pieces are selling online for prices far beyond their “intrinsic value”. So where does that leave us humble jewelry loving folk? Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be another, “Just make it yourself out of construction paper and tape” kind of messages. The truth is that you can make Elizabeth Taylor’s iconic looks your own, at a budget friendly price. In reality, it never was what she had on her finger or ears; it was how Elizabeth Taylor wore her jewels. It is for this reason that she looked perfectly normal wearing a 33 carat diamond and Kim Kardashian just looked ridiculous. So all you need is a great piece of jewelry, and some attitude!

Let’s take Miss Taylor’s Sapphire and Diamond Sautoir for example. It’s too large and cumbersome for daily wear, so we take its most important elements, the sparkle and stunning sapphire blue color, and translate it into a statement piece that can be worn every day. With that in mind I went on a spree in our showroom. First I found a vintage inspired sapphire and diamond pendant that I loved, but the standard chain just wasn’t adding the oomph that I wanted. 

So, I looked around and saw a fantastic ‘Diamonds by the Yard’ necklace. I strung the pendant on and voila, the perfect sautoir! The DBTY chain is a full 36” so it can pull off that sternum grazing look or you could loop it around your neck for a shorter, layered look. 

If you want a funkier vibe, try folding the chain in half, then take the middle and thread it through the bale on the pendant. Now you have a double width chain with twice the sparkle! And the best thing is it won’t cost you $5.9 million, which means that you can throw in that vintage sapphire ring that you’ve been drooling over!  

But don’t just take my word for it. Take a spin around our showroom and create your own unique look.  With just a little imagination, and of course, the fabulous selection of jewelry here at Union Diamond, you can be just as fabulous as the Queen of Diamonds herself. Just don’t forget to wear it like Elizabeth Taylor would, and make it your own!