Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair With Jewelry 1st Edition Hardcover Book

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Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair With Jewelry 1st Edition Hardcover Book.
Edited by Ruth A. Peltason. 280 illustrations, including 175 … Read more Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair With Jewelry 1st Edition Hardcover Book.
Edited by Ruth A. Peltason. 280 illustrations, including 175 color photographs by John Bigelow Taylor.
DIMENSIONS: 10ʺW × 2ʺD × 12ʺH
From an early age Elizabeth Taylor has loved jewellery and she wears it with a style all her own. Her collection has been appraised as one of the best private collections in the world, and includes pieces by Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Bulgari, Ruser and Schlumberger. Once when she was asked why she had so many diamonds, she replied, because they are my passion. The story of her jewellery illuminates her life: her romances with Mike Todd and Richard Burton; her friendships with Rock Hudson, Roddy McDowell, Michael Jackson and others; and her triumphs and her setbacks. It also recalls a time when Hollywood represented royalty, American style. Each of the 14 chapters opens with a story about Miss Taylor, told in the first person. Each features portraits of the jewels in over 100 specially commissioned photographs, and shows Miss Taylor wearing the jewellery.
"Here, in my own words and as I remember them, are my cherished stories about a lifetime of fun and love and laughter...I've never thought of my jewelry as trophies. I'm here to take care of it and to love it, for we are only temporary custodians of beauty."
--Elizabeth Taylor
She has mesmerized movie audiences since her debut in National Velvet at the age of twelve, dazzled both men and women with her luminous beauty and iconic presence, displayed shrewd business acumen by creating a line of fragrances with unparalleled success, and her AIDS activism has been a call to arms for people around the world. She is Hollywood's greatest living star and a living legendElizabeth Taylor.
One of her greatest passions is jewelry, and over the years she has amassed one of the world's foremost collections. By the time she was in her thirties, Elizabeth Taylor already owned an outstanding set of Burmese rubies and diamonds from Cartier, a fantastic emerald and diamond suite from Bulgari, and the 33.19-carat Krupp diamond, a gift from Richard Burton. That ring was later eclipsed by a subsequent gift from Burton, when he bought a staggering 69.42-carat pear-shaped diamond. Newly named the Taylor-Burton Diamond, it catapulted Elizabeth Taylor into that rarefied pantheon of great jewelry collectors.
In this revealing book, Elizabeth Taylor offers a personal guided tour of her collection. She takes us into her confidence, sharing personal anecdotes, witty asides, and intimate reminiscences about her life, her loves, and her collection. Whether talking about the famous La Peregrina pearl, which was briefly abducted by a household pet, or chatting about a childhood gift to her mother, Elizabeth Taylor shows herself to be the most seductive of storytellers: direct, irreverent, and charming.
Complementing the stories are 125 stunning new photographs of her most remarkable pieces, specially commissioned for this book, and more than 150 rarely seen images (many from Elizabeth Taylor's personal collection) of the star wearing her jewelry over the course of almost sixty years. We see her as a young ingenue of fifteen wearing what would be the first of many charm bracelets, and again, equally dazzling, as a mature woman, wearing the famous Duchess of Windsor diamond brooch, which she purchased to benefit AIDS research.
Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry marks the first time this beautiful jewelry will be seen together as a collection. Lavishly produced and illustrated, the book has an introduction by the world-renowned authority on jewelry, François Curiel, of Christie's. It is for those who are enchanted by this most incandescent and enduring star, for those who cherish and dream of jewelry, and most importantly, for those who believe in the true meaning of love. This book is a fabulous display of unbelievable glamour, assembled over a lifetime, by one of the most extraordinary women in the world. See less