Christie's to Auction Elizabeth Taylor's $150 Million Jewelry Collection

Jewelry hounds? This is one of those times when I wish I had a few $mil burning a hole in my pocket. OK. That's not an 'uncommon' thought, but the news that Christie's is auctioning Elizabeth Taylor's jewelry collection is sending my blingy consumption habit into orbit!

Yes, it's true. People.com reports the famed auction house will be putting Dame Liz's baubles on the block - and yes, the stash includes all of her 'big hits' - including Taylor's rumored favorite, The Krupp Diamond(!!!)

Christie's declined to comment on the story, and there is no word yet if the proceeds will benefit Elizabeth Taylor's charity, The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation - but you can be sure jewelry lovers the world over will be pushing the paddle hard to get their paws on a little piece of jewelry perfection.

In the meantime, I'm loving all of the jewelry-related tidbits that keep trickling out as the world mourns the loss of an icon. Lorraine Schwartz (famed red carpet jeweler and friend of Taylor's) told People that magnificent gems were a natural part of Taylor’s day-to-day life.

“People always gave her gifts … it was something that she learned to love.” And she took great care of them, too. “She [had] collections and collections, and rooms. She [knew] where every single piece was. [It was] amazing.”

In fact, Schwartz remembers receiving a phone call one morning in 2003 after Taylor had taken a fall. “She was like, ‘I don’t feel good, my hair is dirty but I’m wearing my bracelet,’” she recalls. “I mean, fabulous."

Blue Diamond Rocks The Auction Block

Huge diamond alert! Christie's held their "Jewels: The New York Sale" yesterday, and the famous Bvlgari Blue Diamond wasn't just their top seller at a whopping $15.7 million - it broke the price-per- carat barrier to boot!

What a little over-achievor...

"A world record price was achieved on Oct. 20 for The Bulgari Blue, a much-celebrated stone that came up for sale at Christie's for the first time in almost 40 years," said Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry for Christie's Americas in a release.

The jewel was purchased in Rome in 1972 for $1 million and was given as a gift from the collector to his wife to celebrate their first son's birth, according to Christie's.

How could I have left $15 million diamonds off my Jewelry Gift Guide for New Moms? The horror.
 
Do ridiculous diamonds give you 'the giddys' too? Scratch the itch with me by gawking at yet another blue beauty - this one fetched more money than any stone at auction. Ever!

Hyperventilating. It's the world's worst cologne.

Christie's Auctions $5 Million Diamond

I've got one doozy of a 'lower jaw drop' alert, jewelry lovers. Christie's reports that the storied 'Evening Star' diamond recently sold for a whopping $5.4 million, the latest in a line of remarkable diamonds to dazzle at auction.

According to a press release, the 39-carat, D color diamond from India's famed Golconda mines was snatched up by an anonymous buyer, paying $138,000 per carat for the diamond dubbed the "Evening Star" because its previous owner liked to wear it out at night.

How charming for them.

The icy rock was part of Christie's "Magnificent Jewels from a Distinguished Private Collector" sale, held Thursday in New York.

The sale of the "Evening Star" comes on the heels of the record-setting $10.8 million sale of "The Vivid Pink" diamond Dec. 1 in Hong Kong and the $7.7 million sale of the 32.01-carat D-flawless Annenberg Diamond in October.

"The diamond market continues to show remarkable strength despite the volatility of the financial world," Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry at Christie's New York, said in the release.

Indeed.

My question is: who wears these things in the light of day? Don't you have to have a body guard brigade following your every move? Or is it something these folks will just keep in a showcase for or a vault somewhere for their own personal enjoyment (which would be a crying shame)?

What would you guys do with a rock that size? Weigh in!

Rare Pink Diamond Sets Auction Record

Hold on to your haute couture, jewelry hounds. One whopper of a diamond just entered the hands of a lucky (and filthy rich) bidder on Tuesday.

A rare, 5-carat pink diamond was auctioned off by Christie's Hong Kong for a record $10.8 million, putting some shine back into the world's rare and large stones market.

The stone, of a "vivid pink" hue and considered near perfect but not quite flawless, triggered brisk bidding with a final price that smashed the previous record set 15 years ago in Geneva for a 19.66-carat stone that sold for $7.4 million. The pink gem's per-carat price of $2.2 million was also the highest ever paid for any diamond at auction, Christie's said.

"No stone has ever been sold for $2 million a carat, we were used to ... a million dollars a carat for colored diamonds but never 2 million," Francois Curiel, Christie's Europe chairman told Reuters. "This is an absolute record that is not going to be broken for a while I believe."

But the famed Wittelsbach Blue Diamond still holds the record as the world's most expensive jewel ever sold at auction, fetching a mere $24 million last year. Just a drop in the proverbial bucket, right?

Pink diamonds have always been coveted by the rich, the famous and we mere mortals alike. Click here to see which celeb dazzled their loved one with a pink diamond engagement ring for the ages - not quite 10 carats, but a keeper nonetheless.

The Wittelsbach Blue Diamond Sells Big!

As you jewelry hounds know, I’ve been tracking the Christie’s auction of the stunning 35.56-carat Wittelsbach blue diamond. The rare blue gem was expected to fetch around $15 million, but global economic woes and recent jewelry auction disappointments put the estimated figure in jeopardy, to say the least.

The 17th-century stone was originally given to Infanta Margarita Teresa by her father King Philip IV of Spain on the occasion of her engagement to her uncle, Leopold I of Austria. The diamond remained in royal custody for over 300 years until it found its way into a private collection, where it has remained since 1964.

So what did the historic diamond go for? How about a record-setting $24.3 million! Recession? What recession?

"In the midst of these challenging times, we were thrilled to achieve an historic price for an historic diamond," said Francois Curiel, chairman of Christie's Europe and auctioneer for Wednesday's sale.

The previous sales record was a mere $16.5 million for a 100-carat diamond in 1995.

International jeweler Laurence Graff was the wealthy winner on Wednesday, Christies said in a release. Graff was bidding against Aleks Paul of Essex Global Trading, a professional of Russian origin based in New York.

What on earth will Graff do with the dazzling diamond? According to Bloomberg news, Graff’s son, Francois, said they care less about the historical provenance of the stone and more about its unique diamond properties.

“We’re looking at the stone for what the stone is.” Graff Diamonds will re-cut the diamond with the intention of making the slightly chipped stone flawless and a deeper color, he said: “We’ll lose a few carats, but nothing too substantial.”

What's a few carats between friends, really...

Rare Blue Diamond on the Block

Democrats aren’t the only ones with a penchant for blue these days. Christie’s London is putting an historic blue diamond on the auction block on December 10th, and the little beauty is expected to fetch a whopping $15 million.

The 17th century gem weighs in at 35.56 carats and is known to collectors as the Wittelsbach diamond. The stone was originally given to Infanta Margarita Teresa by her father King Philip IV of Spain on the occasion of her engagement to her uncle, Leopold I of Austria. Um…ew.

The diamond remained in royal custody for over 300 years until it found its way into a private collection, where it has remained since 1964.

"The appearance of a large blue diamond, among the rarest of colors, with a history that can be traced back to the 17th Century and 300 years of royal connections will surely be a thrilling occasion for all collectors of ... rare jewels," said Francois Curiel, international head of jewelry.

Six months ago a 13.39 carat blue diamond stunner sold for a world record price of $8.9 million, but now that the global economy has a serious case of the blues, it’s not clear that Christie’s will be able to secure their estimated purchase price.

To be continued...

Mega Diamonds and a Media Mogul

Hip hop’s top dog, Russell Simmons, and Ugandan model, Kiara Kabukuru, showed off two gigantic diamonds to the press this week. The two radiant rocks were cut from the famous 316-carat Ponahalo diamond and will be the centerpiece at Christie’s Auction House for their highly anticipated event, “Jewels: The New York Sale”.

The Steinmetz Diamond Group cut the Ponahalo when it was unearthed in 2005 into four polished stones, and it took them almost 18 months to create the gems featured in the sale.

The two mega-diamonds weigh in at 102 and 70 carats, respectively, and are expected to draw high bids, with the larger jewel predicted to sell for $4 million and the smaller gem a mere $2.2 million.

"I hope someone wears it," said Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry at Christie's. "It's something that should be seen."

Let’s hope the price includes a pair of burly bodyguards and a lifetime supply of pepper spray.

A portion of the Ponahalo proceeds will be donated to Russell Simmons' Diamond Empowerement Fund, which supports projects in Africa.

Other high profile items up for grabs are leftovers from model Giselle Bundchen's jewelry box and a dolphin brooch given to Liz Taylor by former husband, Richard Burton.

If your savings can take the hit, this is clearly the event of the year for jewelry collectors everywhere (and the moguls who love them).

Shine on, you crazy diamond lovers! Shine on!

Diamond Rocks on the Auction Block

It’s rough being the world’s richest supermodel. Diamonds are thrown at your feet, gemstones are bestowed upon you like royalty, and big name actors woo you with bling that would make even a pirate blush. What to do with the clutter? What any sensible, rich, criminally gorgeous woman would do. Get rid of it.

Brazilian beauty, Gisele Bundchen, is streamlining her treasure chest by auctioning thousands of dollars worth of glittering jewels in the Christie’s Jewels: The New York Sale scheduled for October 15th. Tom Brady’s significant other will be selling a 3.35 carat colored Sabbadini diamond ring expected to fetch between $15,000 to $20,000. She is also unloading a six carat diamond pendant necklace worth between $120,000 to $150,000.

The supermodel, who formerly dated actor Leonardo DiCaprio, has not officially revealed who gave her the lavish leftovers she's shedding, but we’re thinking old Leo’s King of the World days are decidedly over. There’s nowhere to go but down, quite frankly.

People reports that a portion of the auction proceeds will go to the Russell Simmons co-founded charity Diamond Empowerment Fund, which provides educational funding to diamond-producing countries in Africa.

For a look at all the yummy baubles up for sale, including the largest stone in the auction, weighing 102 carats and costing an estimated $4 million, click here.