Société des Bains de Mer (est. 1893), Kelly received a Set of three clip-brooches (1955), two matching and one slightly larger, of intersecting diamond sprays each emanating from a cabochon ruby. These versatile jewels can be mounted on a diamond band and worn as a necklace, or upright on an additional tiara frame, as they were displayed at the NGA. Princess Grace often wore the brooches in the tiara setting paired with her diamond rivière Necklace (1953), with its three rows of baguette and large brilliant-cut diamonds at the front, and a handsome diamond Bracelet (1955). Princess Grace’s near-contemporary and friend the actress and philanthropist Dame Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011) sometimes visited her for events in Monaco, such as the Zodiac-themed ball celebrating the Princess’ fortieth birthday in 1969. Taylor was the recipient of numerous extravagant gifts of jewellery throughout her tumultuous life. So synonymous with jewels did she become that in 2005 she developed a signature line, House of Taylor Jewelry, a collaboration with the model Kathy Ireland and Mirabelle Luxury Concepts. Taylor’s voracious appetite for jewels ensured that her impressive collection encompassed pieces from many of the most distinguished jewellery houses, including significant works acquired from and crafted by Cartier. Originally part of a demi-parure, Necklace (1951/53) was a gift from Taylor’s third husband, the film and theatre producer Mike Todd (1909-58). Todd, who would die in a plane crash a year after their marriage, gave his pregnant wife the set in 1957 while they were on holiday at Villa La Fiorentina, near SaintJean-Cap-Ferrat. Taylor later recalled, I was in the pool ... and Mike came out to keep me company. I got out of the pool and put my arms around him ... He was holding a red leather box, and inside was a ruby necklace, which glittered in the warm light. It was like the sun, lit up and made of red fire. First, Mike put it around my neck and smiled. Then he bent down and put matching earrings on me. Next came the bracelet. Since there was no mirror around, I had to look into the water. The jewellery was so glorious, rippling red on blue like a painting. I just shrieked with joy, put my arms around Mike’s neck, and pulled him into the pool after me. It was a perfect summer day and a day of perfect love.35
Taylor wore the suite to the London première of Around the World in Eighty Days (Michael Anderson, 1956), 2 July, 1957, at the Astoria cinema attended by TRH. Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, and her daughter Princess Alexandra. The necklace could be mounted on a frame and worn as a tiara, as modelled by the artist Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002) in a photograph by Henry Clarke for Vogue in 1953. However, Taylor is unlikely to have worn it in that RIGHT: Cartier, Paris, Necklace (1951, altered 1953). platinum, gold, round brilliant‑,baguette‑ and fancy‑cut diamonds, 8 cushion‑shaped and oval faceted Burmese rubies (no. MC1151), 37.5 cm (length). (Formerly owned by Dame Elizabeth Taylor).© Cartier Collection. (Photo: Vincent Wulveryck)