Elizabeth Taylor pearl sells for $11.84m

A huge pearl once worn by European royalty and last owned by Hollywood siren Elizabeth Taylor sold for a record $11.84 million at a blockbuster auction in New York on Tuesday. “La Peregrina”, depicted in art works over the centuries and coveted by kings and queens, was bought for Taylor by her actor husband Richard Burton in 1969. Suspended from a Cartier necklace, the pearl had been estimated to sell by Christie’s for $2-3 million but the figure shot up in fierce bidding, reaching the highest price for any pearl jewellery at auction.
The pear-shaped white pearl was a highlight of Christie’s sale of the legendary jewelry and fashion collections amassed by Taylor, the so-called “Crown Jewels of Hollywood”. The actress, who died in March at the age of 79, had seven husbands during her glamorous life, countless admirers and a passion for jewellery.