Elizabeth Taylor (1932 – 2011)

No tribute to Dame Elizabeth Taylor could pass without some mention of her celebrated jewelry collection. Yesterday, her gems were valued at $150 million and are going to be auctioned off to raise money for AIDS.

Taylor had the means to be a real collector. She not only purchased designs by the big haute jewellery houses like Cartier and Van Cleef and Arpels, she also sought out historically important pieces like the Shah Jehan Diamond and the La Peregrina pearl. She even had a diamond named after her.

This is like being an art collector who sets her sights only on Old Masters and Renaissance masterpieces. It didn’t really matter what kind of stones they were, as long as they were the rarest or the biggest. She was also fortunate that most of her collection were given to her as gifts by husbands and admirers (the one piece she purchased for herself was Wallis Simpson’s Prince of Wales Insignia brooch at auction. But it was certainly her knowledge of fine jewellery that guided the purchase of those gifts.

Taylor once said, “I’m fortunate to have some very important pieces of jewelry. I don’t believe I own any of the pieces. I believe that I am their custodian, here to enjoy them, to give them the best treatment in the world, to watch after their safety, and to love them.”

Image via Cartier.