The Extraordinary Elizabeth Taylor Collection

March 13, 2012

One of the most lucrative sales in auction house history recently took place at Christie’s in New York City.  The sale featured items from the estate of the late movie star, Elizabeth Taylor. The items that were auctioned included pieces of Jewelry, fashion, decorative arts and film memorabilia. Over thirty-six countries were represented as people bid in person, over the phone, and via the Internet. The bidding was fierce, which drove up the prices of many items.  In fact, many pieces sold at fifty times their pre-sale estimate.

Some of the most sought after items were pieces of jewelry from Miss Taylor’s magnificent jewelry collection.  It was predicted that the diamond tiara given to Miss Taylor by her third husband, Mike Todd, would sell for between $300,000 and $500,000.  It ended up bringing in 4.2 million dollars. The World famous Taj Mahal Diamond, a gift to Miss Taylor on her Fortieth birthday from her then-husband Richard Burton, fetched 8.8 million dollars.  But her gorgeous pearl necklace, “La Peregrina,” brought an even higher price.  It sold for an astonishing 11.8 million dollars. In all, Miss Taylor’s jewelry collection grossed almost 116 million dollars.

Miss Taylor also was a collector of fine art.  Her father, who was an art dealer in London, nurtured her interest in beautiful things. She collected artwork her whole life and owned several masterpieces. Many of them were sold for extraordinary prices during this auction.  The item that brought the highest bid of the whole auction was Van Gough’s landscape, “Vue de L’asile et de la Chapelle de Remy.” It sold for sixteen million dollars.

There were twenty-six items in the Elizabeth Taylor Collection that sold for over one million dollars each.  In total, the auction raised over $156,756,575. Almost every item in the auction sold for more than expected, which many saw as a testament to Miss Taylor’s exquisite taste!