From Liz Taylor to Joan Crawford, the secret history of celebs’ diamonds

Stellene Volandes, editor of City & Nation journal and writer of “Jeweler: Masters, Mavericks, and Visionaries of Trendy Design,” spotlights six stars and their history-making diamonds. Elizabeth Taylor (1970) Common/Getty Pictures Cartier owned this 69-carat diamond for under at some point earlier than Richard Burton snapped it up for his beloved La Liz, rechristening it the “Taylor-Burton” diamond. “It’s essential to keep in mind it was massive — actually massive,” explains Volandes. “Its authentic proprietor was an Annenberg heiress, who bought it [to Cartier] as a result of she thought it was too massive to put on round New York. Even Liz thought it was too massive to put on as a hoop, so she made it a necklace, designed to conceal the tracheotomy scar she had after a bout with extreme pneumonia.” Jackie Kennedy (1953) Bachrach/Getty Pictures; Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe through Getty Pictures The ring John F. Kennedy used to suggest broke with custom, that includes emeralds alongside the typical diamond, in an open-halo setting. Volandes says that, like a lot of Jackie’s early jewellery, this Van Cleef & Arpels ring was chosen not by JFK however by his controlling father, Joe. It was deeded to Boston’s JFK Presidential Library & Museum after her dying (and fared higher than one other piece from Joe — which she pawned to pay for a brooch, commissioning a paste reproduction to put on when he was round). Joan Crawford (1963) Chester Maydole “Joan’s jewellery — all her personal, to be clear — was as massive as her persona,” laughs Volandes. When Crawford attended the Oscars she wore diamond items from her private assortment, like this necklace with a removable brooch, as a press release of energy (and wealth). It was one of her favorites, though the removable brooch was nearly misplaced when the star left it on a restaurant desk by mistake. A busboy threw away the gem, reasoning that no bauble so giant might be actual. It was later rescued — and he was promptly fired. Nicole Kidman (2002) David LEFRANC/Gamma-Rapho through Getty Pictures “What a pioneering transfer it was then, to use and put on uncooked diamonds,” Volandes notes of this one-of-a-kind Bulgari necklace, created in partnership with the actress. Kidman wore it to the 2002 Oscars, when she was nominated for her starring function in “Moulin Rouge.” Treating uncut gems with the similar lavish precision as typical diamonds was a groundbreaking method at the time, however unsurprising for the avant-garde-minded jewellery home; it has since develop into a mainstream approach. Marilyn Monroe (1953) Archivio GBB / CONTRASTO/Redux “Diamonds Are a Woman’s Greatest Pal” is the final love letter to the gem, crooned by Marilyn Monroe (with a bit of assist from dubmistress Marni Nixon) in “Gents Choose Blondes.” Volandes notes that Monroe wore this pear-shaped, canary-yellow diamond from India, referred to as the “Moon of Baroda,” in the movie. It was ultimately bought to an nameless bidder at Christie’s in 1991 and vanished from public view. Since then, the “Moon of Baroda” has surfaced solely as soon as — at an exhibition in Belgium 10 years in the past. Céline Dion (1997) Ke.Mazur/WireImage The singer was so dazzling on this necklace — which she wore whereas singing the Oscar-nominated “As a result of You Beloved Me” at the 1997 Academy Awards — that it was snapped up by an nameless purchaser instantly after the present. That includes greater than 600 diamonds, together with a four-carat stone set at the middle of a capturing star, this necklace’s celestial motif is signature Chanel. “Legend has it, [Coco Chanel] began working in diamonds to assist the business throughout the Nice Melancholy,” notes Volandes. Share this: https://nypost.com/2018/05/02/from-liz-taylor-to-joan-crawford-the-secret-history-of-celebs-diamonds/ The post From Liz Taylor to Joan Crawford, the secret history of celebs’ diamonds appeared first on My style by Kartia.