Moscow harbors collection of Elizabeth Taylor’s Crown Jewels

Moscow is the first city to host Christie’s collection of the late Elizabeth Taylor's jewels, clothes and decorative arts. Taylor, a celebrated actress and social activist, handed over exclusive rights to the collection to Christie's in 2006. After the tour that includes stopovers in London, Los Angeles, Dubai, Geneva, Paris, Hong Kong and New York, the items will go up for auction in December. Photo: diamond and ruby earrings (estimated price $7,000-$9,000)

One of the most significant pieces in the collection is the 8.24-carat ruby and diamond ring by Van Cleef & Arpels, which Taylor received for Christmas from her lover and twice husband Richard Burton in 1968. Taylor called the ruby in this ring the most perfectly-cut precious stone that she had ever seen. Photo: the 8.24-carat ruby and diamond ring by Van Cleef & Arpels (estimated price $1 million -$1.5 million)

Taylor’s jewelry passion is best described by Richard Burton’s famous quote: “I introduced Liz to beer, she introduced me to Bulgari.” Burton once said that “Bulgari” was the only Italian word Elizabeth knew. She first discovered Bulgari in 1962 while filming in “Cleopatra” in Rome. “Undeniably, one of the biggest advantages to working on Cleopatra in Rome, was Bulgari’s shop,” Taylor said in her book “My Love Affair with Jewelry.” Photo: Diamond chandelier earrings by Bulgari (estimated price $150,000 -$200,000)

In 1961 Taylor’s fourth husband, American singer Eddie Fisher, presented her a fabulous birthday gift, a Bulgari 15-carat brooch and earrings set. But soon after Taylor left Fisher for Burton, her miffed ex sent her the bill for the set. Photo: a guest of the exhibition looks at the Bulgari brooch (estimated price $300,000-$500,000)

The final auction, to be held on December 13 in New York will feature a 269-item collection of Liz’s jewelry, including a Cartier necklace with a famous 55-carat pearl that had previously been part of the Spanish crown jewels. Taylor called it “the most perfect pearl in the world”. Photo: Bulgari brooch (estimated price $300,000-$500,000)

Among the brooches that will be on sale in December is the one by Jean Schlumberger, Tiffany&Co, presented to the actress by Burton at the premiere of the Night of Iguana in 1964. Photo: Night of Iguana brooch (estimated price $200,000-$300,000)

Though Burton bought most of Liz’s jewelry, she sacrificed probably the most famous and pricey in her collection, the Burton-Taylor diamond, to fund the senate campaign of her seventh husband, John Warner. Photo: necklace, earrings by Van Cleef & Arpels (estimated price $120,00-$180,000 and $25,000-$35,000 respectively) and a ring with baguette-cut diamonds, estimated at $20,000-$30,000

Taylor had repeatedly said that she was merely a keeper of the jewels and that one day they would belong to someone else. “You can’t cry on a diamond’s shoulder and diamonds won’t keep you warm at night. But they are sure fun when the sun shines,” she once said. Photo: diamond-and-sapphire set by Mouawad (estimated price $120,000-$150,000)

Apart from her beloved gemstones, Christie’s exhibition showcases a collection of Taylor’s clothes, where each item has its own story. Photo: a sequin-embellished dress by Arnold Scaasi that Taylor wore in 1992 during a perfume award ceremony for her White Diamonds fragrance.

Taylor had several boleros in her collection that were embellished with her sequin-made portraits and ancient profiles. She wore this one during a charity event for her AIDS foundation in 1992. Photo: Versace bolero, decorated with Greek profiles.