Elizabeth Taylor collection Auction at record price

 It's one of the richest, most extravagant auctions you'll ever see. The best of Elizabeth Taylor's famous jewelry was sold off Tuesday night, setting a world record for a single collection.


More items from Taylor's estate were to go on sale Wednesday at Christie's auction house in New York. And if you're thinking of bidding, you'd better have deep pockets.

The collection has already brought in a record $116 million. And nearly every sale far surpassed its estimated price.


Taylor's historic 50-carat pearl alone sold for nearly $12 million. And one of the crown jewels of her estate -- the Krupp diamond ring Richard Burton bought her -- sold for almost $9 million.The pearl was mounted onto a specially commissioned diamond-and-ruby Cartier necklace.

The 33.19-carat Krupp ring is iconic, and experts have rated it potentially flawless.

A diamond tiara given to Taylor by her husband, Mike Todd, estimated at $80,000 pre-auction brought in a surprising $4.2 million.

The Taj Mahal, an Indian diamond and jade pendant sold for $8.8 million. Its initial estimate was a range of $300,000 – $500,000. An emerald and diamond necklace went for $6.1 million.

And the sale of the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond fetched $8.8 million more, capping a spectacular night of bidding that included other jewelry.

The auction continues through Friday with sales of clothing and film memorabilia.

More than 400 people filled the bidder seats and more than a dozen Christie’s staffers were on the phone with buyers. Before the bidding started, the auction house played a two-minute video showing clips from some of Taylor’s movies, including “Giant,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.”