Liz Taylor’s historic La Peregrina was sold for $11.8 million during an auction at Christie’s in New York.
A rare 16th century pearl, known as La Peregrina, from the collection of late Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor’s jewels has created a new auction price record at $11,842,500. The large pear-shaped white pearl, which originally weighed 223.8 grains, and was the largest pearl ever discovered during this period, was discovered in 1513 off the Pearl Islands in the Gulf of Panama by a negro slave. King Philip II of Spain was among the first recorded owners of the pear-shaped pearl, which later passed on to the Spanish queens Margaret and Elisabeth, who proudly wore the pearl in the 17th century portraits painted by Velazquez himself. In 1969, Richard Burton purchased the pearl at an auction for $37,000 and presented it to his then wife Taylor. “The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor” fetched a record-setting $115.32 million.
