Auctions of Elizabeth Taylor's collection of jewels, gowns, art and memorabilia broke records last week on their way to totaling more than $150 million worth of live and online sales, Christie's said on Monday. Four days of live auctions in New York and a 10-day online auction from the Hollywood film legend's collection took in a total of $156,756,576, or more than three times expectations.Taylor's world-renowned collection of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, pearls, emeralds and more accounted for the vast majority of the haul, selling for a combined $137 million and becoming by far the most valuable jewelry sale ever. Records were set for pearls, emeralds, and Indian jewels, while per-carat records were broken for a rubies, yellow, and colorless diamonds. “My mother always acknowledged that she was merely the temporary custodian of the incredible things she owned,” said Taylor's son Chris Wilding, who is a member of the Elizabeth Taylor Trust. “My family is proud that our mother's legacy as a celebrated actress, tireless AIDS activist, and accomplished businesswoman touched so many people's lives that they wanted to have a part of it history,” he said. Taylor's couture gowns and apparel sale also set a record for the most valuable private collection ever sold at auction, taking in more than $5 million including commission. The marathon sales' statistics spoke for themselves and highlighted the worldwide interest in the Hollywood legend who rose to fame as a young star of the movie “National Velvet” and went on to claim two acting Oscars for “BUtterfield 8” and “Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.”
