Elizabeth Taylor, Christie’s, and the Case of the Cursed Necklace

This is a nice necklace, made of gold and rubies and once belonged to movie star Elizabeth Taylor. But is it worth $8 million? Taylor had an extensive collection of fabulous jewels, many with precious gems much larger than these rubies, but this one, given to her by Richard Burton, was supposed to have also belonged to Shah Jahan, the Mughal Emperor who built the Taj Mahal. Christie's was charged with finding a buyer for the necklace, and they did, but it was returned. And the Taylor estate refused to refund the money to Christie's. The kerfuffle has Christie's in a bind, and they are holding more of Taylor's jewelry collection until the deal is worked out. You can read the details of the necklace and its status, plus see a gallery of Elizabeth Taylor's other fabulous jewels that may be auctioned off at Vanity Fair.