Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor shared throwback photographs of herself wearing Elizabeth Taylor’s legendary emerald-and-diamond Bulgari necklace on Instagram. The post came after reality star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian recently brought the piece back into the spotlight by sharing her experience trying it on at Bulgari's Rome boutique.
In her Instagram post, Kapoor appeared in a red ensemble accessorized with the necklace. She captioned the photos, "Since everyone’s talking about Elizabeth Taylor’s iconic Bulgari necklace, I thought I’d throw it back to when I had my little moment with her. My big fashion revelation at the time? Red and green look rather fabulous together. Groundbreaking, I know." She also added, "Clearly, this necklace has a better social life than most of us."
The necklace was created by the Italian luxury house Bulgari around 1962 while Taylor was filming Cleopatra in Rome. During this time, Taylor began a romance with co-star Richard Burton, and the couple frequently visited Bulgari's boutique on Via Condotti. Burton gifted Taylor an extensive collection of Bulgari emerald pieces, including this necklace, which was presented to her as a wedding gift in 1964 according to a Christie's auction catalogue.
The design features a hoop at the front that allowed Taylor to suspend a detachable emerald-and-diamond pendant. That pendant was a separate jewel originally gifted to her by Burton around the time of their engagement in 1962. According to the Christie's auction catalogue, the platinum necklace features 16 graduated rectangular and square-cut emeralds, each surrounded by circular-cut diamonds, separated by diamond motifs using circular, marquise, and pear-shaped stones.
The necklace has been worn by other celebrities since it returned to Bulgari. In February 2013, actress Julianne Moore wore the piece at a Bulgari celebration at the brand's Rodeo Drive boutique in Beverly Hills, which showcased pieces from Taylor's collection that Bulgari acquired following a 2011 auction.
Following Taylor's death in 2011, her collection was sold at Christie's in New York. The Bulgari emerald-and-diamond necklace sold on December 13, 2011, for $6,130,500, which substantially exceeded the pre-sale estimate of $1 million to $1.5 million.
