Elizabeth Taylor’s pearl sold at auction for $11.8 million

A pearl owned by Dame Elizabeth Taylor, a renowned British-American actress, was sold at Auction for $11.8 million on Tuesday, December 13.

The 50.6 carat jewel – named La Peregrina which was suspended from a necklace featuring diamonds and rubies by Cartier – was expected to make $2-3 million at the auction at Christie’s in New York. However, it surpassed all expectations and ended up going
four times the estimate.

The pearl has a rich history and is considered as one of the most famous pearls in the world. It reportedly belonged to eight Spanish Kings from 1582 until 1808 and was purchased for the late ‘Cleopatra’ star by her husband, Richard Burton, in 1969.

Other items belonging to the actress – who died of congestive heart failure in March 2011 at the age of 79 – were also at the auction including an emerald and diamond necklace by Bulgari, which was sold for $6.1 million, and a Van Cleef Arpels diamond ring
which went for $2.3 million.

Brooches, earrings and other items were also bid on, as were designer dresses from Chanel, Dior and Versace, handbags and kaftans owned by Elizabeth.

Marc Porter, chairman of Christie’s Americas, stated: "It is by far the greatest jewellery collection to be offered in a century".

Sales are set to continue through to Friday, December 16, with items including the dress she wore to her first marriage to Conrad Hilton among the items available.

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Posted by Haris Ansari on Dec 14 2011. Filed under Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry