A MOVIE STAR’S UNIQUE COLLECTION
Elizabeth Taylor’s jewellery collection was one of the greatest in the world. She adored Bulgari. According to the man she married twice, Cleopatra co-star Richard Burton, it was the only word she knew in Italian. The actress once said, “Undeniably, one of the biggest advantages to working on Cleopatra in Rome was Bulgari’s nice little shop. I used to visit Gianni Bulgari in the afternoons and we’d sit in what he called the money room and swap stories.”
In 2011, Taylor’s collection went to auction through Christie’s, achieving US$144,168,075, the most valuable sale of luxury jewellery in history. Bulgari bought seven of the pieces it had created for her.
jewellers most associated with the films is David Morris. His most famous piece is the impossibly beautiful 25-carat scoop necklace featuring hundreds of tiny white diamonds worn in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) by Teri Hatcher, who dazzles Pierce Brosnan before being assassinated while wearing it. Equally breathtaking is her ring set with an enormous 25-carat sapphire surrounded by diamonds. Morris created a very different look for Denise Richards in The World is Not Enough (1999), a gossamer-delicate rose-cut bangle, necklace and hoops in white gold set with diamonds.
Vesper Lynd, portrayed by Eva Green, is Bond’s favourite girl and arguably the most beautiful of all the women he falls in love with, so it’s fitting that she wears an unforgettable piece of jewellery in Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008). Green twice got to wear London designer Sophie Harley’s Algerian Love Knot necklace with two matching pairs of earrings. The necklace is based on an ancient design and features twisted rings of gold and silver intertwined with delicate chains and clasped together with a whimsical winged heart.
The most unusual display of sparkle is seen in Diamonds are Forever (1971) when the gem-smuggling Tiffany Case (played by Jill St John) teams up with Sean Connery to defeat Blofeld, who has stolen a huge haul of jewels to build a lethal laser weapon. Tiffany and Bond navigate their way through the casinos of Las Vegas in search of the priceless stones, but the finale sees the couple sailing away into the sunset knowing they will never be able to recover the diamonds; Blofeld has hidden them in space, adorning a satellite dish.
GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES
A kiss on the hand may be quite continental but Marilyn Monroe knew that diamonds are a girl’s best friend when she dripped in jewels from ears to wrists in 1953’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Pouring her famous curves into that satin pink dress, Monroe name-dropped Harry Winston as she sang Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend wearing the famous white diamond cluster necklace, with glittering matching earrings and bracelets worn over elbow-length gloves. In another scene, she and co-star Jane Russell sparkle through a song-and-dance number wearing matching ruby-and-diamond chokers, earrings and spectacular cuffs over red evening gowns.
Two versions of Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend were recorded for the film, and the famous song has been copied many times since, including by Madonna and Kylie Minogue. Nicole Kidman reprised a version in Moulin Rouge (2001) as she swung across a nightclub, later wearing a US$3 million bib-style diamond necklace that was broken three times by her jealous lover (fortunately using a less-valuable stunt version by Australian jewellery designer Stefano Canturi).