Elizabeth Taylor auction totals £87,830,832 after day two

The second day of the Elizabeth Taylor jewellery auction yesterday fetched $21.3 million, and was 100% sold by lot, bringing the total to $137,235,675 (£87,830,832). This made it not only the most valuable private collection of jewellery ever offered at auction but also the most valuable sale of jewelry in auction history.

Christie’s international director of jewellery François Curiel said: “The spectacular results of the Evening Sale of Elizabeth Taylor’s iconic jewels sparked a surge of interest from collectors around the world. It took eight hours and three auctioneers to sell 190 more jewels from Elizabeth Taylor’s storied collection.

“The atmosphere was electric from the very first to the last lot, with collectors from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and America chasing each individual jewel with a tenacity never seen before. All the jewels offered greatly exceeded their estimates, sometimes by much as a hundred times.  This brings the total value of Miss Taylor’s jewellery collection to $ 137.2 million and sets a new record for the largest jewelry sale ever presented at auction.”

During the sales so far, the Burton Wedding Bands became the subject of a spirited bidding battle between a bidder on the phone and in the room. The gold and diamond rings, which were given to Elizabeth Taylor by Richard Burton upon their marriages in 1964 and 1975, were estimated at $6,000 to 8,000. The final sale price was $ 1,022,500.  

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