The secret affair soon became public, and it appeared that the Bulgari shop, fitted with a convenient secret back door, became the new couple’s favourite respite destination. As their affair grew from burgeoning to blooming, so was the start of Mrs Taylor’s phenomenal collection of Bulgari haute joaillerie pieces; each one calibrated to celebrate a pivotal time in her whirlwind romance with Burton.
The famous movie studio Cinecittà is located just outside of Rome, not far from the Bulgari’s flagship store on the via dei Condotti. This geographical proximity gave birth to what is possibly the most powerful love affair of modern times: a female icon’s intimate bond with Italian high jewellery. As she settled in Rome in 1961 in Rome to shoot a defining role for her career, Isis, Queen of the Nile in the cinematic magnum opus Cleopatra, Elizabeth Taylor, was offered by her then husband, Eddie Fisher, her first piece from the eponymous Italian house, a superb en tremblant brooch in platinum with emeralds and diamonds that she wore both as a brooch and hair ornament. A floral delight that heralded one of two all consuming passions for the world to see: one for Bulgari, and subsequently the other for her male counterpart, Richard Burton, whom Elizabeth met on set, while they were both married. The secret affair soon became public, and it appeared that the Bulgari shop, fitted with a convenient secret back door, became the new couple’s favourite respite destination. As their affair grew from burgeoning to blooming, so was the start of Mrs Taylor’s phenomenal collection of Bulgari haute joaillerie pieces; each one calibrated to celebrate a pivotal time in her whirlwind romance with Burton. London, July 2016, the Bulgari boutique on New Bond Street, is paying homage to this important page of the Italian House’s history by hosting a retrospective of both some of Elizabeth Taylor’s extraordinary jewels (now part of Bulgari Heritage collection) and some of the archetypal costumes the star wore in the Joseph L. Mankiewicz epic movie. On the first floor of the store in the lavish grand salon, the scenography transports us back to glamorous times, with rare access to museum-quality wonders. For the occasion, we met with Lucia Boscaini, Bulgari Brand & Heritage Curator and Senior Director, who kindly gave us a tour. ‘In 2011, Christie’s held a sale of Taylor’s private collection, which set records as the most valuable sale of jewellery in auction history. From this sale, and under the provision of a special agreement with the Elizabeth Taylor trust, the Maison re-acquired seven pieces that best represented Taylor’s predilection for the brand and her unerring collector’s eye’, Boscaini explains. ‘It was a matter for us at Bulgari to buy not only important pieces to enrich our repertoire, but also pieces with a strong resonance to Elizabeth Taylor’s life and priorities.’ The tour started with the above-mentioned en tremblant brooch. ‘Of the three Taylor owned, we chose to acquire that one’, Boscaini adds. One of many anecdotes says that when Eddie Fisher subsequently divorced ElizabethTaylor, he wanted the brooch back. To which the star replied that she could live without her soon ex husband but categorically not without the jewel. Putting her money where her mouth was, she ended up buying the brooch back from him. The second jewel is the first piece of jewellery she received from Richard Burton as their affair was gaining momentum: a ring in platinum with an octagonal step-cut Colombian emerald (app. 7.4 cts) and twelve pear-shaped diamonds (app. 5.3 cts) that the star made a habit of wearing everyday even after her divorce from Burton. Testament to her incredible dedication to charities, and knowing how symbiotic to each and every one of her jewels she was, it is with sheer selfless generosity that she auctioned the ring
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