Sadly, the undeniable queen of jewelry, Elizabeth Taylor, has been ill recently, so we wanted to take a moment to appreciate her. Taylor has one of the most important and interesting collections of jewelry in the world. As unstable as her life has been, her commitment to jewelry has been very steady. Pieces like the Asscher-cut, 33 carat Krupp Diamond, given to her by Richard Burton in 1968, are symbols of her status as one of the top collectors. About 10 years ago, she published an amazing book filled with photographs and stories about how she obtained some of her most memorable pieces.

One story she tells in her book takes place right after she began working with Richard Burton, the man who would eventually become her fifth husband. They had made a connection but promised not to see each other because they were both married to other people. Her marriage to Eddie Fisher was on the brink of collapse at that time, and she was alone on her thirtieth birthday, hoping to hear from Burton. A beautiful package arrived for her with a Bulgari canary diamond flower brooch and matching earrings (isn’t that what you received on your 30th?). Of course she hoped it was from Burton, but it was from her husband. The whole day she waited for a message from Burton and it never came. A few months later, Fisher had moved out of the house, and their divorce was moving forward. When she received a bill from Fisher for those canary diamonds … she paid it. That’s a lady committed to her jewels, isn’t it?

If you’re interested in learning more, here’s a great link to an interview in which she discusses her collection with Barbara Walters: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=123840&page=1

The book we referenced earlier is called Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry, and we highly recommend it!