Love trophies_ The greatest jewelry collection of Elizabeth Taylor

Did you know that most of Elizabeth Taylor's jewels were gifts? It's true. The legendary actress and style icon received many of her most famous pieces from her various husbands and admirers over the years. One of her most iconic pieces, the 33.19 carat Krupp diamond, was a gift from her fifth husband, Richard Burton. The stunning diamond became known as the Elizabeth Taylor diamond and was one of her most cherished possessions. However, one type of jewelry was even more often presented to Alias for wedding, for birthday, for anniversaries, and just as a token of love. We simply have one thing to say if you're already intrigued. We promise only facts and captivating jewelry descriptions. You may learn even more about Elizabeth Taylor and won't be let down by these statement items. Let's start with her favorite one. While in most cases, diamond tiaras are worn by royals and aristocrats, Elizabeth also possessed one. Not a regal tiara, the Mike Todd diamond tiara, given to her by her third husband, producer Mike Todd, is a brilliant composition of diamonds arranged in bold sculptural lines. The design is unapologetically glamorous, wide, confident, and luminous, like a spotlight frozen in time. Unlike traditional royal tiaras designed for distance and ceremony, this tiara feels personal. It sits low, framing the face rather than towering above it, as if meant for social rooms rather than palace halls. To match the headpiece, Mike also gifted her a pair of diamond gerund earrings, which almost looked like a set. Elizabeth Taylor believed diamonds should be worn boldly, layered, stacked, unapologetic. Among the rest of the gifts was also a remarkable Cartier ruby and diamond suite, which was lately shown as a part of an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Bulgari Emerald Necklace. It is said that Richard Burton used to joke that the only thing Elizabeth knows how to say in Italian is Bulgari, and the truth is that Taylor did have quite a love affair with the design house. Burton gifted her many exquisite pieces from Bulgari over the course of their lives, and the one that is indeed remarkable is the Emerald Necklace from the Bulgari Emerald and Diamond Suite. Said to be one of Taylor's favorite pieces, the necklace was a part of a vast suite consisting of a ring, earrings, a bracelet, and a detachable pendant brooch, which was often seen as a focal part of a necklace. Pinned to her wedding gown, also at the Paris premiere of Lawrence of Arabia, and over a decade later to meet Queen Elizabeth II. Burton eventually had the brooch fastened to an even more extravagant necklace. The piece is made of a graduated series of 16 rectangular cut and square cut emeralds, each within a circular cut diamond surround, spaced by graduated circular cut, marquise cut, and pear-shaped diamond quatch foils, mounted in platinum. It became one of her favorite sets of jewelry, and she famously wore it to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? With Elizabeth Taylor's passing in 2011, the emeralds were sold at Christie's in a legendary auction that raised $137.2 million for her AIDS Foundation. These exquisite gems, once a symbol of love, continue to sparkle as a reminder of her timeless elegance and legacy in the world of cinema. The emeralds are now part of the Bulgari Heritage Collection. Among the most famous and cherished necklaces in Elizabeth's collection was the stunning La Peregrina pearl necklace. The massive pear-shaped pendant, which was in the Spanish royal family for over 250 years, clocks in at 55.95 carats. Worn by several Spanish queens in the Bonapartes of France, the pearl was the largest in the world upon its discovery in the 16th century. In 1969, the sea stone was sold at Sotheby's, with the buyer being none other than Burton. The actor bought it for $37,000 and gave it to Taylor on Valentine's Day of their first marriage. She asked Cartier to design a complex two-strand setting that included eight platinum and gold-set diamond and ruby plaques, four cultured pearls, and 56 natural pearls. Because the pendant is removable, it can also be worn as a brooch. What's interesting, the pearl appears on screen in the 1969 motion picture Anne of the Thousand Days, where Burton played King Henry VIII in the movie and Taylor had a brief appearance. In My Love Affair with Jewelry, the actress described once losing La Peregrina in her Caesar's Palace suite. Luckily, it was recovered from one of her many pets. I just casually opened the puppy's mouth and inside was the most perfect pearl in the world, Taylor wrote. It was, thank God, not scratched. The necklace was auctioned as part of Taylor's Christie sale in 2011, fetching $11.8 million, and we are not surprised at all, as the pearl is indeed a historic and beautiful one. Don't you think so? Taylor Burton Diamond Necklace. One of the most sentimental necklaces in Elizabeth's collection was the Taylor Burton Diamond Necklace. This exquisite piece featured a 69.42 carat pear-shaped diamond that was a gift from Richard Burton, who purchased it at an auction for a record-breaking price. It is said Aristotle Onassis reportedly intended to purchase the diamond for his wife, Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Though at the auction block, Cartier was victorious. It wasn't long before Burton hunted down Cartier, purchasing the diamond for Taylor. First, the diamond was seen mounted on the ring before it was repurposed into a necklace. While it was still in Taylor's ownership, the bauble was insured for $1 million. The policy mandated that it could only be worn publicly for 30 days out of the year, and that Taylor was to be accompanied by armed guards while wearing it in public. The actress eventually had a replica made. After Taylor's second divorce from Burton in 1978, she sold the Taylor Burton Diamond to with part of the proceeds being donated to build a hospital in Botswana. Once again, Richard Burton was very obvious with jewelry gifts, and we believe Elise never was surprised to get one more gorgeous jewel, this time the Bulgari Sapphire Sautoir presented on her 40th birthday. The Burtons invited their families and famous friends to celebrate the milestone birthday. The guest list included Susanna York, Ringo Starr, Michael Caine, and Princess Grace of Monaco. And there, Elizabeth could show her newly received gift of love, Sapphire Bulgari Sautoir. The extraordinary Bulgari design centers on a pavé set diamond octagonal pendant, set with a sugarloaf cabochon sapphire weighing approximately 52.72 carats. It has elegant Calibre cut sapphires and four bullet-shaped diamonds framing the pendant. The long necklace echoes the pattern on the pendant with Calibre cut sapphires and pavé set diamond links. At Christie's, Taylor's Bulgari collar realized $5.9 million in 2011. Inspired by Venetian door knockers, the Barker Rolls Lion Necklace was a gift from Richard Burton to Elizabeth Taylor in 1971, after the birth of her first grandchild. The passionate love story that united these two Hollywood icons abounds with extraordinary pieces like this one, which depicts a lion's head made from yellow gold, emeralds, and diamonds. Designed by Van Cleef and Arpels, a gold diamond and emerald piece features a lion's head that was inspired by Venetian door knockers. It can be refashioned from a necklace into a choker, a pair of bracelets, or a brooch with a detachable pendant. Affectionately known as the Granny Necklace, this piece illustrates the full symbolic power of precious gifts, as well as the bonds forged by Van Cleef and Arpels with certain legendary couples who left their mark on the 20th century. Now we would like to pay your attention to a rather impressive and controversial piece. If you wonder why, keep watching. For Elizabeth Taylor's 40th birthday, Richard Burton once again expressed his love and gratitude by giving her a special pendant on a necklace called Taj Mahal. From a gold neck chain set with cabochon rubies and old mine cut diamonds set in gold, the jewel is set with an inscribed heart-shaped table cut diamond within a red stone and jade mount set with table cut diamonds. The reverse is adorned with an enamel latticework design. The name of Nur Jahan, the spouse of Mughal monarch Shah Jahangir, is engraved on the diamond. It is thought to eventually have been a gift from the Emperor to his son, who became Emperor Shah Jahan. But was that really the case? In 2011, Christie's sold this piece to an anonymous buyer for $8.8 million at a record-breaking auction. Because he thought the diamond did not truly belong to Emperor Shah Jahan, the buyer urged Christie's to cancel the sale of the stone and return his money months after the auction finished. However, according to the trust's lawsuit, Christie's simply said that the diamond was an Indian diamond, a fact that the bidder was unable to contest and never provided an age guarantee in its pre-auction materials. Hence, this piece became controversial. The Daisy Necklace Although Taylor was known for acquiring her own jewelry, she once borrowed the necklace and earrings she wore to the 1993 Oscars from Van Cleef and Arpels. She chose the particular item because it was a special award. At the Oscars, Elizabeth Taylor, wearing a bright yellow Valentino gown in the Reine Marguerite suite, which translated Queen Daisies, accepted the John Herscholt Humanitarian Award for her hard work on behalf of AIDS awareness and research. The suite is composed of a necklace and earrings with pavé-set white diamond petals, pavé-set yellow pistiles, and chrysoprase leaves. The necklace itself is designed as a graduated series of circular-cut diamond daisies, each set with a circular-cut yellow diamond bombé pistil, spaced by chrysoprase leaves with circular-cut diamond trim. And guess what? She fell in love with this piece right away and eventually purchased it along with a matching brooch. Ultimately, the Van Cleef and Arpels Daisy Suite was sold for $746,500 at Christie's Estate Sale, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. The Missoni Monkey Necklace But it wasn't just her husbands who showered her with jewels. Elizabeth Taylor's close friend Michael Jackson also gifted her with this amazing jewelry set. The exotic necklace centers upon a pair of pavé-set diamond yellow and white gold monkeys, enhanced by circular-cut ruby eyes, perched atop a bunch of bananas, joined to a series of similarly set frolicking monkeys, enhanced by circular-cut diamond and gold stylized foliate motifs, accented by carved emerald leaves and twisted gold rope, joined to a gold pineapple clasp. The necklace comes along a pair of earrings in the same style. Formerly from the collection of the Baron and Baroness de Portanova, it is believed Jackson bought the set at auction. Each piece held a special place in her heart, representing not only her impeccable taste and style, but also the love and admiration of those closest to her. And so, the most famous and beloved necklaces of Elizabeth Taylor continued to shine brightly, forever etched in the annals of Hollywood history and jewelry world. Don't you think so? Which piece echoes in your heart? Have you ever watched videos about Elizabeth Taylor prior to this one? Do you have anything to add? Please write down all your comments below. We want to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe. See you on our next legendary journey.