News

The  landmark  auctions  of  The  Collection  of  Elizabeth  Taylor  at Christie‟s  New York  from  December  3-17n 2001  realized  a  combined  total  of  $156,756,576  (£100,324,209/ €120,702,563)  with  every single item sold.   

The  sale  drew  unprecedented  interest from bidders throughout the world, who gathered in Christie‟s flagship Rockefeller Center saleroom to compete in person, on the phone,  on-line and by absentee bid to win one of the Collection's 1,778 lots of jewelry,  fashion,  decorative arts and film memorabilia. The total far exceeded Christie's pre-sale expectations  for  the sale as a  whole and for individual  items, which were  frequently hammered down for five, ten, or even 50 times their estimate in some cases.

As  one of  the most  highly-anticipated  sales in  auction  history, the Collection generated  intense interest from bidders throughout the world, with 36 different countries represented during the four days of live auctions. This historic sale set a world record for the most  valuable sale of jewelry in auction  history,  and  set  a  new  bar  for  the  most  valuable  collection of  fashion ever  offered  at auction. It also marked the company's first-ever Online-Only sale, which ran in parallel to the live auctions at Christie's New York and generated over 57,000 bids and $9.5 million in additional sales.

In total, 26 items sold for over the $1 million mark, and numerous new world auction records were achieved – a testament to Miss Taylor's expert eye for craftsmanship, rarity, and quality in all of the items she chose for her personal collection. 

All sales proceeds will be directed to the Elizabeth Taylor Trust. A portion of the profits generated by sales of exhibition tickets, event sponsorships and the ongoing sales of select publications will be donated  to  The  Elizabeth  Taylor  AIDS  Foundation  (ETAF).   An estimated  58,000 visitors viewed  highlights  from  the  Collection  since September,  when Christie's  launched  an  eight-city global exhibition and tour that reached Moscow, London, Los Angeles, Dubai, Paris, Geneva and Hong Kong. The grand finale of the tour was a spectacular 10-day museum-quality public display of the  complete  Collection  that  drew  thousands  of  collectors  and  fans  to  the  company's flagship galleries in Rockefeller Center and became the „can‟t-miss‟ event of the holiday season.

SALES SUMMARIES

The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor The Legendary Jewels December 13 & 14, 2011 Jewelry Sales Total: $137,235,575

The inaugural sale of The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor set the tone for a record-breaking week of sales by becoming – in a single night – the most valuable jewelry sale in auction history.  80 of the film star's most iconic jewels fetched  nearly  $116  million  at  the  black-tie affair  on  December 13, followed  by  a  full eight-hour  day  sale  on  December  14  that  yielded  $21.3  million  more  in  Christie's New  York,  2007).    A gift  from  Richard  Burton in  1969  (having  been  bought  for $37,000 at auction), this remarkable pearl of 203 grains in size is equivalent to 50 carats.  Discovered  in  the 1500s in  the Gulf of  Panama,  it was  part  of  the  crown jewels  of  Spain  for  generations  and  ranks  as  one  of  the  most  important  historic pearls in the world.  

Other major highlights of the jewelry portion of the Collection included: The  Elizabeth  Taylor  Diamond,  the  spectacular  D-color,  33.19  carat  diamond  ring  that the  star  wore  virtually  every  day  since  receiving  it  as  a  gift  from  Richard  Burton  in  1968, fetched $8,818,500 (£5,643,840 /€6,790,245)  against a pre-sale estimate of $2.5-3.5 million, and set a record price-per-carat for a colorless diamond. It sold to an Asian private collector in the room after a fierce bidding battle. sales.

Numerous world auction records for jewelry were established, including a new record price for any pearl jewel, any emerald jewel, and any Indian jewel.  New record per-carat prices were established for an emerald, a ruby, a yellow diamond, and for a colorless diamond. In addition, a record price was set for  a  pair of natural  pearl  ear pendants, and  for any Van  Cleef &  Arpels  jewel  sold at auction.

The top lot of the sale – and of the Collection thus far – was the legendary 16th century pearl, La Peregrina , which realized $11,842,500 (£7,579,200/ €9,118,725), setting two world auction records: for an historic pearl (against the previous record of $2.5 million  set  by  La Régente  at Christie's Geneva, 2005) and for any pearl jewel (surpassing the $7 million paid for The Baroda Pearls)

The Taj Mahal Diamond, an Indian diamond and jade pendant necklace with a later ruby and  gold  chain  designed  by  Cartier,  was  a  gift  from Richard  Burton  on  the  occasion  of Elizabeth Taylor's 40th  birthday.  This historic  jewel  soared  above  its  pre-sale estimate of $300,000-500,000  to  achieve  $8,818,500  (£5,643,840 /€6,790,245)  –  a  record  price  for  any Indian jewel at auction.

The Emerald and Diamond Pendant Brooch, by BVLGARI, the 23.46 carat rectangular-cut  Colombian  emerald  jewel  that  was  a  gift  from  Richard  Burton  to  Elizabeth  Taylor  on the  occasion  of  their  engagement  in  1962,  sold  for  $6,578,500 (£4,210,240/€5,065,445) – setting both a new record price-per-carat for an emerald and a new record for any emerald jewel at auction.

Haute Couture, Fashion & Accessories December 14 & 15, 2011 Fashion Sales Total: $5,541,913

A fitting celebration of Hollywood's most glamorous star and her fearless sense of  style,  the  two-day  sale  series  devoted  to  the  haute  couture,  fashion  and accessories  portion  of  The  Collection  of  Elizabeth  Taylor  realized  a combined total of $5,541,913 (£3,602,243/ €4,267,273). Comprising nearly 400 items  in  total,  including many of Miss  Taylor's most-photographed  looks,  the sales  featured  scores  of  museum-quality  treasures. 

The  Evening  Sale  on December  14  opened  with  the  announcement  that  the  Elizabeth  Taylor  Trust will  donate  Miss Taylor's sunflower yellow wedding  dress  from her first marriage to Richard Burton to a major American institution. 

The  top  couture  lot  was  a  Christian Dior  Evening Gown  of  Silver Encrusted  Brocade  with matching  Evening  Bag,  1968,  which  Elizabeth  Taylor  wore  to Guy de Rothschild and his wife's yearly  ball  at  their  country  home,  Chateau  de  Ferrières,  in  Brie,  France.  This  ensemble  realized $362,500 (£235,625/ €279,125). The accessories were led by the three lots of Louis Vuitton luggage which fetched $245,500 (£159,575/ €189,035) in total. 

Other major highlights of the Haute Couture and Fashion collection included:  Andy  Warhol  (1928-1987),  Liz,  an  offset  lithograph  in  colors,  1964,  signed  with  a dedication  by  the  artist  in  felt-tip  pen:  “to  Elizabeth  with  much  love”,  which  sold  for $662,500  (£430,625/  €510,125).  In  recognition  of  her  friendship  with  Warhol  and  this cherished gift, Miss Taylor proudly displayed this personalized work in the drawing room of her home in Bel Air.

Miss Taylor's  Gina  Fratini  Wedding  Dress,  a  flowing  caftan-style  dress  worn  for  her second  marriage  to  Richard  Burton  in  Botswana  in  1975,  sold  for  $62,500 (£40,625/€48,125). Labeled “Gina Fratini”, 1975, the dress has a patchwork silk bodice and floating  pastel  chiffon  ombré  sleeves  and  skirts,  with  long,  beaded,  feather  trimmed streamers.

A Versace Beaded Evening Jacket, ‘The Face', circa 1992, realized $128,500 (£83,525/ €98,945). This jacket is beaded with rhinestone portraits of Elizabeth Taylor in her most famous  roles,  including  Cleopatra.  Miss  Taylor  wore  this  jacket  when  she  spoke at „The Freddie Mercury Tribute  Concert for  AIDS Awareness‟, which featured a performance by the remaining members of the band “Queen”, in 1992 at London's Wembley Stadium.

The  live  auction  sales  of  The  Collection  of  Elizabeth  Taylor  drew  to  an appropriately  dramatic  close  on  December  16  with  heavy  international competition  for  Fine  and  Decorative  Arts  &  Film  Memorabilia  from  the Collection which  realized  $4,441,188 (£2,842,360 /€3,419,715). Bidders from 20  different  countries  around  the  world  competed  for  an  array  of  fine  and decorative items from Miss Taylor's personal collection, including a superb group of scholar's rocks and two works by Andy Warhol.  Among the items of memorabilia chased by bidders were cherished gifts from Michael Jackson and Bob  Dylan, and  a pair  of scripts  bound  in  lilac  leather  that  were  gifts  from Eddie Fisher  

Top lots from the Fine and Decorative Arts & Memorabilia selection included:  A Large Gray Scholar's Rock,  one  of  six  scholar's  rocks  in  Miss  Taylor's  personal collection, was  pursued  by  multiple  bidders  on  the  phone  and  online  to  achieve  $386,500 (£247,360/€297,605) – more than 30 times its pre-sale estimate of $8,000-12,000. 

Andy Warhol's ‘Untitled',  the  postcard-sized  drawing  of  lips  that  Warhol  addressed  “to elizabeth a big kiss” that was a favorite of visitors to the New York exhibition of the complete Collection, was won by an American private bidder for $242,500 (£155,200/€186,725).

Andy Warhol's “Diamond  Dust  Candy  Box”,  a  sparkling  depiction  of  a  opened  box  of chocolates coated with a sheen of diamond dust, achieved $236,500 (£151,360 / €182,105) or nearly $4,000 per chocolate.

Elizabeth Taylor‟s script for the 1944 M.G.M. production of “National Velvet',  the first film  to  solidify  her  status  as  an  international  film  star  at  the  age  of  12,  fetched  $170,500(£109,120/€131,285), well beyond its pre-sale estimate of $2,000-3000.

The Online-Only Sale December 3-17, 2011 Online-Only Sales Total: $9,537,900 The sales of The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor featured a Christie's first: an Online-Only sale that ran in parallel to the live auction series in New York.  The two-week  time-based  auction  was  hugely  successful,  with over $9.5 million in total sales and bidders from 25 countries around the world  competing  for  973  additional  items  of  fine  and  costume  jewelry, designer  fashion  and  accessories,  decorative  arts  and  memorabilia  from Miss Taylor's personal collection.  In total, more than 57,000 online bids were  received,  as collectors  rapidly  drove  prices  from  the  $50  starting point up into the thousands. 

The  top-selling  item  of  the  Online-Only  sale  was  Hiro Yamagata's  Portrait  of  Elizabeth  Taylor,  an acrylic  on canvas  painted  in  1991  (pictured  above  left)  that  realized  $108,000 , £69,120/€83,160), shattering the previous auction record of US $7,973 for the Japanese contemporary artist.   

Additional top lots from the Online-Only selection included:  A Suite of Multi-Gem, Diamond and White Gold Jewelry, which realized $78,000 against a pre-sale estimate of $3,000-5,000.  Similarly, a Diamond and 18K white gold necklace also realized $78,000 against a pre-sale estimate of $10,000-15,000.

In  the  fashion  and  accessories section  of  the Online-Only  sale, a  brown  patent  leather handbag by Cartier paired with sunglasses realized $20,400, well above a pre-sale estimate of $300-500,  and  a  minaudière by Judith Lieber  realized  $31,200  over  a  pre-sale  estimate  of  $200-400.