Stars’ jewellery realises true value
JEWELLERY has become a major status symbol for movie stars and the true value of their investments in glittering multi-million dollar showstoppers often only emerges when their estates are auctioned.
Elizabeth Taylor was probably the most passionate jewellery collector Hollywood has known and even wrote a book, Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry on her self-proclaimed weakness. When her jewellery was auctioned, the final total was expected to be about $30 million but it reached $116m. Among the highlights were:
• The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond, a 33-carat diamond ring that the star wore virtually daily since receiving it as a gift from Richard Burton in 1968. It fetched $8.8m to set a record carat price for a colourless diamond.
• The Taj Mahal Diamond, an Indian diamond and jade pendant necklace with a later ruby and gold chain designed by Cartier. This was a gift from Burton for Taylor’s 40th birthday which also achieved $8.8m – a record price for any Indian jewel on auction.
• The pear-shaped La Peregrina pearl, with its ruby, diamond and pearl necklace by Cartier, which sold for $11.8m – a world record for a pearl jewel. The “Wandering Pearl” is more than 500 years old and among its historic owners was French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
But the most famous of Taylor’s jewellery, the Taylor-burton diamond, originally found in South Africa, was not on offer. At 68 carats and set in a Cartier pendant, the stone hit the headlines in 1969 when bought by Burton and Taylor, then in their second marriage.
Following their divorce in 1978, Taylor put the diamond up for sale and allocated the $5m proceeds towards building a hospital in Botswana.
Other noteworthy movie stars’ jewellery sold on auction included a pair of rhinestone earrings Marilyn Monroe wore to the premiere of The Rose Tattoo. It fetched $185 000.
Lauren Bacall’s jewellery was also a major feature at Bonham’s sale in 2015.
An 18-carat gold, diamond, amethyst and turquoise ring designed by Jean Schlumberger, Bacall’s favourite designer, achieved $52 500. An 18-carat yellow gold ropework bracelet, also by Schlumberger, sold for $50 000. And a 14-carat yellow-gold Tiffany & Co chain sold for $52 500.