Big Girls Need Big Diamonds

No one loved diamonds more than Elizabeth Taylor, famously quoting that "big girls need big diamonds." And no celebrity is more identified with diamonds and jewels than the legendary actress. While she may have had numerous husbands (seven), her love affair with jewelry may be the one that lasted the longest. From the 33.19 karat Krupp diamond bestowed to her by two time husband Richard Burton to a ruby and diamond Cartier necklace from Mike Todd, she amassed an incredible collection over her extraordinary lifetime and even developed a perfume called White Diamonds.

Just in time for Christmas comes the Collection of Elizabeth Taylor on the auction block at Christies. Collectors and well-heeled fans of the late star can purchase over 1000 items that include jewelry, couture and art starting on December 13th through the l6th. The collection is expected to fetch 30-50 million and it's all here -- Bulgari, Givenchy, Van Cleef & Arpels, Valentino and even Warhol.

And if the prices are too staggering for your budget, opt for the catalogue of memorabilia. A special boxed set accompanied by Taylor's signed out of print book "My Love Affair with Jewelry" is available for a mere 2500.00 (note - only 25 are available and proceeds go to her AIDS Foundation). You can see more of the collection at the Christies website.

Santa, if you are reading, I would love the Irene Sharaff yellow silk chiffon wedding dress worn on her first wedding day to Richard Burton in l964. It's a steal at 40,000-60,000. Just put in a bid on the low side and see what happens:)

Irene Sharaff wedding dress

Krupp diamond given to Taylor by her fifth husband.
It's said she wore the ring everyday and is valued at 2.5 to 3.5 million.

Bulgari sapphire and diamond necklace given to
Taylor by Richard Burton on her 40th  birthday
Estimated price? 600,000-800,000

Nicknamed the Granny Necklace after Burton gave it to Taylor
when she became a grandmother, this gold, diamond and emerald piece
 from Van Cleef & Arpels is a bargain at 120,000-180,000

Warhol's lithograph is expected to go for 30,000-50,000

Valentino red satin ball gown

Emanuel sateen white trenchcoat as worn by Liz below in 1954

Antique circular "opera passes" with the names of opera houses

Husband Mike Todd gave Taylor this tiara to wear to the Oscars
Estimate 60,000-80,000

Happy bidding!

And if you are in the Richmond, Virginia area next weekend, I will be speaking on the making of Cleopatra at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on Saturday, December 10th. The lecture will be followed by a screening of the film.

I will also be lecturing on Designs on Film at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, DC Thursday, December 8th followed by a book signing. And at some point, I will stick a wreath on the door and ink out a few Christmas cards:)

Photo Credits:  Christie's

The Legend That Was Liz

We knew Elizabeth Taylor as one of the world's most beautiful women, style icon, acclaimed actress and wife times eight (well one was to the same man twice). While she was continually in the public eye from the time she appeared in National Velvet (1944) at the age of twelve up until her death, she remained a fiercely private person and a woman we really didn't know.

My wonderful publicist and author Joseph Papa shines a spotlight on the legend in her own words, focusing on the wit and wisdom culled from a life well lived and then some. His book Elizabeth Taylor, A Passion for Life: The Wit and Wisdom of a Legend (Harper Collins, 2011) covers her thoughts on everything from acting, career, love and marriage to beauty, aging, and extravagances along with her poignant thoughts on sense of self. From  throwing herself into the role of Maggie the Cat to her humanitarian work fighting AIDS, passion was the driving force in everything she did. For those who love her work, the book is a wonderful addition to your library.

Here are a few choice quotes  from Dame Elizabeth herself coupled with former Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld's style tribute that appeared online in the Telegraph last month. Roitfeld teamed with photographer Mario Testino to design a 72 page "fash-a-thon" (their words not mine!) of the late actress in the September issue of V Magazine.

"I don't think of myself as beautiful, I never have."
On the set of Suddenly Last Summer, 1959

"With Richard Burton, I was living my own fabulous, passionate fantasy."

"Happiness wasn't bestowed on me; I earned it."
 Looking happy in the surf on the set of Suddenly Last Summer

"Maybe with Eddie I was trying to see if I was alive or dead."
On the set of Cleopatra with soon to be ex-husband Eddie Fisher in 1962

"My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did,
the first thing I saw was an engagement ring. I was hooked."

"I, along with the critics, have never taken myself very seriously."

"The Elizabeth Taylor who's famous, the one of celluloid, really has no depth or meaning to me.
It's a totally superficial working thing, a commodity."

"So much to do, so little done, such things to be."
The actress in a bejeweled caftan, 1969

Photo Credits: Harper Collins, Rex, The Telegraph

A Tale of Four Cleos

Word out of Hollywood is actress Angelina Jolie will play Cleopatra in the biopic based on the best selling book Queen of the Nile, Cleopatra: A Life (Little, Brown). Will fourth time be the charm for Cleopatra?


While the first Cleopatra of note was silent film star Theda Bara in 1917, Claudette Colbert really put the exotic Queen on the map in Cecil B. Demille's 1934 production. The film is pure Demille filled with campy, over the top sets and lavish costumes. Although widely panned by critics, the film was nominated for Best Picture.

The sets tried to depict the period of the times but also reflected the art deco trends of the decade as well.

Production sketch for Cleopatra 

Perhaps the most controversial Cleo of all was the 1963 mega-production starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Considered one of the most expensive films of its time, the film was also known for its romantic pairing of two celestial stars of all time, Taylor and Burton. The backstory of the filming was more entertaining than the actual movie itself, with a production plagued by affairs, illness (Taylor had an emergency tracheotomy for starters), bad weather, cast replacements, financial problems, moving entire sets from London to Rome and lawsuits etc. The film's 42 million dollar budget nearly sank Twentieth Century Fox (chronicled in a fascinating documentary "Cleopatra: The Film that Changed Hollywood"). 

The legendary production designer/renaissance painter, illustrator and set designer John De Cuir Sr. (coined Hollywood's Da Vinci) built the spectacular sets of Alexandria and the number of costumes hit a record 26,000. Seventy sets were built on such a vast scope (such as the Sphinx below) that it was rumored to cause a lumber shortage in Italy. for The dress above for Ms. Taylor was reported to be made of 24 carat gold cloth. Andy Warhol considered the film to be one of the most influential in design -- even trendy sixties stylist Vidal Sassoon designed a tribute hairstyle.

One of the many incredible works of art/production sketches by John De Cuir Sr. 

And for more on the Burton-Taylor saga, check out this month's Vanity Fair with Liz on the cover.


Wonder who will play Marc Antony to Angelina's Cleo? I guess Brad Pitt is too obvious a choice.

Photo Credits: Top, Design by Oliver Messel for Cleopatra's head-dress in the film of Caesar and Cleopatra

Watercolour on paper, Victoria and Albert Museum, John De Cuir Jr., Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount Pictures.