Last night, Christie’s auction house held part one of its Elizabeth Taylor sale, fetching nearly $116 million — a world record for a private jewelry collection. “The evening’s auction was expected to fetch $30 million. The hammer went down on a night that had accumulated $115,932,000 (or £74,196,480),” reports The Telegraph. According to The Telegraph, here are a few examples of the sales:
- The La Peregrina necklace, a diamond, ruby, and pearl rope with a sixteenth-century pear-shaped pearl pendant, thought to be one of the finest pearls in the world: $11,842,500
- The Taj Mahal ruby and gold chain by Cartier: $8,818,500 (a new world record for an Indian jewel)
- The Prince of Wales brooch, formerly owned by the Duchess of Windsor: $1,314,500
- The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond, a 33.29 carat Asscher-cut ring given to her by Richard Burton in 1968: $8,818,500
A portion of the proceeds will go to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, that she set up in 1991.
