As the world mourns the death of Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor, sources reveal that her jewelry collection might soon be auctioned off at Christie’s, reports People.
Taylor’s famous jewelry collection has been estimated at $150 million, and includes such famous pieces as the 69-carat Taylor-Burton diamond and the 33-carat Krupp diamond. A spokesperson for Christie’s refused to confirm or deny the rumors
The quality of Taylor’s collection is what makes it so special, according to Luxury Jewels of Beverly Hills President Peter Sedghi, who worked with the star on her House of Taylor jewelry line.
“She had the most amazing eye,” said Sedghi. “To be honest, she knew more than I did [about jewelry]. When you would show her stones, she would tell you the origin, if it’s good quality, bad quality, where it came from.”
Diamonds were her favorite according to Sedghi: “She had a collection like I’ve never seen before, and she knew exactly what every one was — what the diamonds were, the quality. But it was more for her; it was … the history behind it. A lot of them had sentimental value.”
Friend and celebrity jeweler Lorraine Schwartz said jewelry was a normal part of Taylor’s history. “The studios, in order to make her happy, they’d always give her jewelry. So she grew up collecting it,” she explained. “People always gave her gifts … it was something that she learned to love.”
Taylor died of congestive heart failure at the age of 79 at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles on March 23.