Everybody knows that Elizabeth Taylor´s life was always saturated luxuries, and, with time, her name became synonym of elegance and eccentricity, which still remains valid over time. One could say that Elizabeth, or Liz Taylor, had two passions in life: Men, by the number of times she was married, and jewelry.
Putting aside her natural beauty (from her gorgeous eyes with a unique color and characteristic shape) to her undoubted talent, Liz was true passionate for precious jewelry. With time, this became a hobby for her, collecting jewelry from the world until she was officially labeled as the owner of the largest jewelry collection. Another award for Elizabeth! This Hollywood lady has always had that attraction or affinity for eccentricity since birth.
This passion was applauded and praised by her husbands, who were complicit in her love and giving her the most marvelous jewels. For example, one of her husbands, Richard Burton, gave her the famous Krupp diamond, which was later resold by actress for charity. Burton was also a fan of historic gems and gave her all he could get his hands on.
Another of her husbands, producer Michael Todd, also supported her expensive hobby. Todd gave her a unique jewelry piece by Cartier known as the “Ruby Suit”. Frist he gave her the Cartier necklace and rings, later the hoops, chandeliers and diamond tiaras to match. These were the best gifts for their beloved.
Once this famous actress admitted that the three great loves were: Michael Todd, Richard Burton and, as expected, jewelry. Among the most outstanding jewels of Liz´s collection is an emerald and diamond necklace by Bulgari, gift from Burton. This is her most known jewel since she used it in films and because she later received an emerald and diamond brooch to match from Bulgari´s exquisite Italian store. Burton is who gave her most of her precious accessories, making him the man who meant more to her. They even got a precious diamond ring named after them. In 1968 he gave her, what became to be known as the Taylor-Burton ring, a 33 carats diamond ring which was Liz´s favorite, only to be surprised the following year with a Peregrina pearl necklace by Cartier, which once belonged to the Spanish royal family.
Upon her death, her prized collection was valued at approximately 21 million euros. All her jewels where auctioned off in New York during a period of 10 days, a part of the profits where donated to the actress´s AIDS foundation, which goes to show Liz was not only eccentric, but also an amazing human being.
Elizabeth Taylor has always been an icon of fashion and a trend-maker. It is truly amazing to observe how she pulls together beautiful pieces of jewelry which seem taken from a fairy-story.