Revealed in all its glittering glory: Elizabeth Taylor's £100m collection of gems, gowns and art goes on display at Christie's
By Sadie WhitelocksFrom a 33.19 carat diamond to a pearl that belonged to a King... As the Elizabeth Taylor Collection is unveiled at Christie's in London tomorrow, we bring you a selection of the most dazzling pieces - and how the late star wore them.
She was renowned for her impeccable taste in jewellery, and over her lifetime amassed a dazzling collection worth a staggering £20million. Many of the pieces were designed by Taylor herself in partnership with her favoured jewellery house, Cartier, and many bestowed upon her by her generous husbands.After her death in March this year aged 79, the entire collection of 300 glorious pieces is to go on display at London auction house Christie's, ahead of a sale of the hoard in New York this December.
The chairman and president of Christie's America, Marc Porter, said the sale promised to 'captivate the auction world'. He added: 'This is without a doubt the greatest private collection of jewellery assembled in one place.'
The legendary emerald suite was bought by
Elizabeth Taylor and husband Richard Burton at jewellers Bulgari while
filming Cleopatra in Italy
Emerald queen: Taylor wore her beautiful
brooches in her hair, as well as on her clothes - these are from her
collection of Bulgari gems
The emerald suite was one of Taylor's favourite
set of gems, and she wore them often - left, Taylor in 1967, wearing
elaborate headdress and the necklace - with removable stone that could
be worn as a brooch; right, wearing the stone as brooch at a social
function with Burton
The earrings from the emerald suite which Taylor wore a lot including to the Paris Opera in 1963 (right)
This Bulgari Emerald necklace is part of a suite that is expected to raise up to £1m ($1.5m)
Taylor's fifth husband Richard Burton won it in an auction and gave it to her as a gift, he worked with Cartier to have it hung on a diamond and ruby necklace.
The necklace will be unveiled tomorrow with dozens more of Elizabeth Taylor's gems. Along with the impressive hoard of treasures amassed by the Hollywood legend will be lavish gowns and art by greats such as Van Gogh and Degas.
The total collection - given an estimated total value of close to £100m - will go on display in the UK for the first time tomorrow in a three-day exhibition opening at Christie's London. Stopping off as part of a three-month global tour, the Elizabeth Taylor collection - which attracted 6,000 visitors when previewed in Moscow earlier this month - is being unveiled in the run-up to a much-anticipated December auction held in New York, where all the pieces will be sold.
Fans of the Oscar-winning actress, who died of heart failure aged 79 earlier this March, will have the opportunity to view the vast array of items taken from her Bel Air estate.
Top pieces include the Elizabeth Taylor diamond, La Peregrina pearl once owned by England’s Queen Mary I, dresses from leading designers including Versace and Chanel and rare works of art by the likes of Van Gogh and Renoir.
A total of 269 pieces from her jewellery collection will be auctioned while 400 fashion items spanning over 50 years of Taylor's life will also be sold off.
Elizabeth Taylor's lavish gem collection is to
go on display tomorrow, including the Cartier ruby and diamond suite,
given to her by third husband Mike Todd, pictured right
The sapphire and diamond Sautoir by Bulgari, estimated to go for £450,000 to £600,000 ($600,000 to $800,000)
Elizabeth Taylor wore the Bulgari Sautoir
necklace for an evening out with husband Richard Burton, which they
spent at the Dorchester hotel
The sapphire and diamond Trombino Ring by Bulgari, set to go under the hammer for £100,000 to £150,000 ($150,00-200,000)
Left: La Peregrina pearl, won by Richard Burton
at auction and made into necklace by Elizabeth Taylor with Cartier is
set to fetch up to £2m ($3m)
For lower priced items there will be an online auction featuring moderately valued pieces with registration and bidding starting on Decemeber 3.
After London the tour will move to Los Angeles, Dubai, Geneva, Paris, Hong Kong before finally closing at the Rockefeller Plaza in New York.
The UK exhibition, which runs until Monday at the auctioneers on King Street, opens tomorrow and in keeping with the actress’s humanitarian work, a portion of the £10 admission price will go to the Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation, founded in 1991.
Marc Porter, chairman of Christie's Americas, said: 'This is without a doubt the greatest private collection of jewellery ever assembled in one place, and Christie's is honoured to have been entrusted with the global tour of the collection this fall, and the sale of the collection in its entirety this December.'
Her famous jewellery and fashion items will go under the hammer over a four-day sale in New York this December, while her art will be auctioned in London next February.
An early estimate valued the entire collection at £94 million, but it is likely that prices will soar well above pre-sale estimates as did with previous items of memorabilia belonging to celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Onassis.
It is her extensive jewellery collection that has caused the greatest excitement. Leading the gala evening sale of 89 top lots on December 13 and 14 is Taylor’s iconic, 33.19-carat white diamond ring, a 1968 gift from her husband Richard Burton after the actor purchased it at auction for $300,000 (£194,000)
The trustees of Taylor’s estate have renamed it The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond, and it is estimated to fetch between £1.57million and £2.19million.
The 14th-century La Peregrina pearl, is estimated to sell for £1.25million to £1.88million.
Expected to fetch £60,000: An antique diamond
tiara, a gift from her third husband Mike Todd, and right, Elizabeth
wearing the piece at a glamorous event
Left,
the Night of the Iguana Brooch, estimated worth £150,000 to £250,000
($231,000 to $385,000), and Elizabeth wearing the brooch in 1965. Right,
the 33.19 carat Elizabeth Taylor diamond, said to be potentially
internally flawless, is expected to fetch £2.2m ($3.3m), ,far right,
Elizabeth wearing the diamond ring
Taylor wearing the
Van Cleef & Arpels ruby and diamond ring at the 2006 Macy's Passport gala in Santa
Monica, California
Gift: The Ping Pong diamond ring, worn
by Taylor, centre, was so named because Taylor won it from Burton in a
bet over a ping pong game. The stunning gold drop Barquerolles earrings
by Van Cleef & Arpels were a 1970 gift from Richard Burton upon the
occasion of Taylor becoming a grandmother - estimated price for set
£96,000 to £116,000, or $25,000 to $35,000
Impressive: Ruby and diamond drop earrings from a
suite that included an elaborate necklace, and right, Taylor wearing
the earrings with the matching necklace
Left:
The heart-shaped Taj Mahal diamond by Cartier, on a ruby and diamond
chain; right, a beaded bolero decorated with the image of Elizabeth
Taylor
Elizabeth adored the emerald suite, and wore the
earrings many years after she'd first bought them with Burton in Italy -
here she wears them in 2007
Left, Taylor's emerald and diamond necklace by
Oscar Heyman and brothers; centre, Elizabeth Taylor wearing the Daisy Parure "Reine Marguerite" necklace by Van
Cleef and Arpels, which is pictured right
Firm favourite: The actress wore this beautifully structured metallic dress with leaf detailing back in 1992
The Scorpio cloak Taylor wore to Princess
Grace's birthday party in Monaco is also on sale. Grace only invited
people with the same Scorpio birth-sign as herself. Liz was born
under Pisces but Burton, fortunately, is a Scorpio
The Tiziana Kimono Taylor wore, with a very
impressive headpiece, in 1968 film Boom which also starred Richard
Burton and Noël Coward
And the best of the rest...
Left,
The diamond Prince of Wales brooch, made in 1935, has an estimate price
of £350,000 to £600,000; right,
pair of diamond and multi-coloured sapphire ball ear clips, with an
estimate of £75,000 to £100,00 ($100,000 to150,000)
Charming: A bracelet from the collection
features tiny charms in gold, studded with turquoise and ruby - it was a
gift from Burton to Taylor, and carries charms bearing the names of
both
Flamboyant: Almost 6,000 people viewed the wares
when they were
exhibited alongside other items of jewellery and fine art, at Moscow's
GUM shopping centre on Red Square. Right, Versace beaded evening bolero,
'Queen Elizabeth', by Atelier Versace, with rhinestone and beadwork
portraits of Elizabeth I, $15,000 to $20,000
A 1990s Valentino red velvet and satin ballgown with scarlet and beaded
satin evening bag has an estimate of £2,000 to £3,200 while a Chanel
ballgown, cape, shoes and clutch bag are set to go for £4,000 to £5,000
(right)
A beautiful peach coloured embroidered dress
Many of the gowns in Taylor's collection were designed by Versace, who became a friend
One of the lavish black gowns from her personal collection
Highlights from Taylor's art collection, include
the 1889 Vincent Van Gogh painting Vue De L'Asile Et De La Chapelle De
Saint-Remy, which is expected to fetch up to £7 million
Niciun comentariu:
Trimiteți un comentariu