256:"I turned into a raving maniac and insisted that he get Aaron on the phone as soon as possible. Elizabeth was as sweet as only she could be and protested that it didn't matter, that she didn't mind if she didn't have it, that there was much more in life than baubles, that she would manage with what she had. The inference was that she would make do. But not me! ... I screamed at Aaron that bugger Cartiers, I was going to get that diamond if it cost me my life or 2 million dollars whichever was the greater. For 24 hours the agony persisted and in the end I won. I got the bloody thing".
381:. When people praised her diamonds at the ball, Taylor would make a show of pretending that they were praising the Ping Pong diamond and not its much larger counterparts. Burton wrote in his diary that "Elizabeth's delight in it is a joy to behold and a very quaint thing to witness is the obvious pleasure that other people take in her wearing it. Even Hjordis Niven and Princess Grace, who are coldish fish, seemed to enjoy her moment. And of course nobody can wear it better. The miraculous face and shoulders and breasts set it off to perfection".
315:"The peasants have been lining up outside Cartier's this week to gawk at a diamond as big as the Ritz that costs well over a million dollars. It is destined to hang round the neck of Mrs. Richard Burton. As somebody said it would have been nice to wear in the tumbril on the way to the guillotine. ... In this Age of Vulgarity marked by such minor matters as war and poverty, it gets harder everyday to scale the heights of true vulgarity. But given some loose millions, it can be done--and worse, admired".
179:, in 1967. Annenberg Ames feared wearing the diamond in her native New York City, and decided to sell the stone. She later said that "I found myself positively cringing and keeping my gloves on for fear it would be seen. ... It sat in a bank vault for years. It seemed foolish to keep it if one could not use it. As things are in New York one could not possibly wear it publicly".
260:
Burton had spent the day after the auction by the payphone in the Bell Inn, after having instructed Frosch to buy the diamond from
Cartier regardless of the price. The diamond was confirmed as theirs the next day, at a cost of $ 1.1 million. Burton also wrote in his diary that "I wanted that diamond
206:
The auction began at $ 200,000 with everyone in the room shouting "Yes!" when the amount was announced, but by $ 500,000 only nine people remained in the auction. The sale proceeded in increments of $ 10,000 after $ 500,000, and only two people remained at $ 650,000. At $ 1 million, Yugler, who was
162:
At the time of sale in 1969, the diamond was set in a platinum ring with two smaller diamonds on either side. After its purchase by Taylor and Burton, Taylor found the diamond too heavy to wear as a ring, and commissioned an $ 80,000 diamond necklace which included a custom setting for the diamond.
414:. The terms set by Lloyd's stipulated that it could only be publicly worn for thirty days in any given year, that it be stored in a vault, and that Taylor was to be accompanied by armed guards when wearing it in public. Taylor would later have a replica made of the diamond that cost $ 2,800.
207:
bidding for Taylor and Burton, dropped out of the auction, which ended shortly after. It was unsure in the crowded room as to who the winner was, but it was later revealed to be Robert
Kenmore, from the Kenmore Corporation, the parent company of the jewellers
417:
After her second divorce from Burton in 1978, Taylor sold the diamond in June 1979 to Henry
Lambert, a jeweller from New York for a figure believed to between $ 3–5 million. Part of the proceeds from the sale funded the construction of a hospital in
252:, where they were visiting Ifor Jenkins, Burton's brother. Burton's lawyer, Jim Benton, called him at the Bell Inn after the auction to tell him that he had been outbid. Burton later wrote of his reaction in his diary, writing that:
130:
bought the diamond at auction for $ 1,050,000, setting a record price for a publicly sold jewel. Thousands of people in New York and
Chicago queued to see the diamond after its 1969 sale. It was subsequently worn by Taylor at
203:, had set a maximum bid of $ 1 million for the diamond, with his lawyer, Aaron Frosch, bidding on the telephone from London, and Al Yugler of the jewellers Frank Pollock and Sons, bidding in the room for Burton.
167:
scar resulting from her bout with near fatal pneumonia in 1961. In 1980, Robert
Mouawad, subsequent owner of the Taylor Burton diamond, had it recut to 68.0 carats (13.60 g).
336:. The diamond's journey to Monaco took three weeks, with the use of three men with identical briefcases, of which only one held the actual diamond. The men flew from New York to
377:
of a carat. The "Ping Pong" diamond had cost only $ 14 and had been bought for her by Burton after he promised her a diamond if she beat him by ten points at a game of
422:. Taylor and Burton's second marriage had taken place in Botswana in 1975. Lambert sold the Taylor–Burton Diamond in December 1979 to Robert Mouawad, of the jewellers
269:
or Mrs. Huntingdon Misfit of Dallas, Texas". The diamond was subsequently named the "Taylor Burton
Diamond". Burton had previously bought Taylor the 33.19-carat
630:
How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a
Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda
288:
Kenmore had agreed to sell the diamond if it could be displayed at
Cartier's stores in New York and Chicago, and after taking out a large advert in the
340:
in France, and upon entering Monaco an armed guard with a machine gun gave further protection to the diamond. The couple were in Monaco to celebrate
233:
1,050,000, which was a new record for a public auction of a jewel. The previous record price for a diamond was $ 305,000 which had been set in 1957.
946:
665:
360:
that Taylor would buy in New York and were unavailable elsewhere, and Taylor was just as excited to receive the stockings as the diamond.
292:
to announce the public viewing, an estimated 6,000 people queued to see the diamond every day. The diamond also appeared as a guest on
261:
because it is incomparably lovely ... and it should be on the loveliest woman in the world. I would have had a fit if it went to
236:
A proviso of the sale stipulated that the diamond could be named by the buyer, and it was subsequently named the "Cartier
Diamond".
650:
How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a
Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States
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887:
866:
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187:
It was announced that the auction would take place on 23 October 1969, with the diamond listed as lot 133, at
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637:
353:
262:
951:
175:
The diamond was originally bought by Harriet Annenberg Ames, the sister of the billionaire publisher
435:
276:
Burton and Taylor's jewels and other investments bought by the couple were officially assets of a
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648:
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199:
could see it, and flown back to the United States for the auction. Taylor's husband, the actor
906:
244:
Burton and Taylor had been in England at the time of the auction, staying at The Bell Inn in
411:
294:
230:
8:
390:
136:
118:
weighing 68 carats (13.6 g), became famous in 1969 when it was purchased by actors
560:
367:, which Burton had bought for her in 1968, and the "Ping Pong" diamond, which was only
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115:
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The necklace was designed to fit Taylor's neck allowing the diamond to cover her
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80:
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After its public exhibitions the diamond was taken to Taylor and Burton in
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The publicity surrounding the purchase of the diamond was criticised in an
266:
188:
152:
148:
62:
52:
31:
349:
341:
277:
164:
132:
39:
394:
229:, who had dropped out of the auction at $ 700,000. The final price was
159:
cut it into the shape of a pear weighing 69.42 carats (13.884 g).
747:
745:
378:
302:
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583:
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410:
A $ 1 million insurance policy was secured against the diamond with
344:'s fortieth birthday at the 'Scorpio Ball', a gala ball held at the
419:
357:
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742:
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580:
529:
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352:. The briefcase that contained the diamond also held three 50
510:
337:
126:. Burton had previously been the underbidder when jeweller
280:
established by the pair, called the Atlantic Corporation.
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in November 1969, who were staying on their yacht, the
779:
Star Style at the Academy Awards: A Century of Glamour
718:
796:
757:
730:
706:
679:
562:
How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood
458:
363:
At the Scorpio Ball Taylor wore the diamond with the
393:
on 7 April 1970, where she wore a dress designed by
147:
The original rough diamond was found in 1966 in the
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511:Tampa Bay Publications, Inc. (September 2009).
214:Underbidders in the sale included the jeweller
92:Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (1969–1975)
389:Taylor subsequently wore the diamond at the
616:
191:in New York City. The diamond was flown to
876:Kashner, Sam; Schoenberger, Nancy (2010).
775:
447:
384:
643:
623:
833:
769:
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666:"Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–"
548:
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469:
929:
896:
854:
805:
763:
736:
712:
688:
664:Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
438:, bought by Burton for Taylor in 1968
155:, weighing 241 carats (48.2 g).
947:Diamonds originating in South Africa
283:
273:in May 1968 at a cost of $ 307,000.
861:. New York: Yale University Press.
840:. London: Antique Collectors Club.
195:in Switzerland so that the actress
16:Diamond weighing 68 carats (13.6 g)
13:
319:
90:Harriet Annenberg Ames (1967–1969)
14:
983:
225:, and the Greek shipping magnate
901:Elizabeth Taylor, the Last Star
818:Kashner & Schoenberger 2010
752:Kashner & Schoenberger 2010
701:Kashner & Schoenberger 2010
611:Kashner & Schoenberger 2010
592:Kashner & Schoenberger 2010
543:Kashner & Schoenberger 2010
517:. Tampa Bay Publications, Inc.
499:Kashner & Schoenberger 2010
482:Kashner & Schoenberger 2010
905:. Simon and Schuster. p.
399:Academy Award for Best Picture
142:
1:
566:. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
452:
240:Purchase by Burton and Taylor
135:'s 40th birthday, and at the
104:Robert Mouawad (1979–present)
658:American Antiquarian Society
638:American Antiquarian Society
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94:Elizabeth Taylor (1975–1979)
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429:
10:
988:
858:The Richard Burton Diaries
826:
170:
100:
86:
76:
68:
58:
48:
38:
26:
855:Burton, Richard (2012).
436:Elizabeth Taylor Diamond
133:Princess Grace of Monaco
397:. Taylor presented the
897:Kelley, Kitty (1981).
448:References and sources
385:Later history and sale
317:
258:
942:1969 in New York City
834:Balfour, Ian (2009).
313:
254:
112:Taylor–Burton Diamond
967:Individual necklaces
882:. London: JR Books.
782:. Angel City Press.
295:The Ed Sullivan Show
96:Harry Lambert (1979)
63:Premier Diamond Mine
962:Individual diamonds
558:(21 October 2009).
391:42nd Academy Awards
137:42nd Academy Awards
23:
776:Patty Fox (2000).
514:Tampa Bay Magazine
308:The New York Times
21:
916:978-0-671-25543-5
889:978-1-907532-22-1
868:978-0-300-18010-7
847:978-1-85149-479-8
789:978-1-883318-14-7
573:978-0-547-41774-5
412:Lloyd's of London
407:at the ceremony.
284:Public exhibition
227:Aristotle Onassis
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49:Country of origin
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442:List of diamonds
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311:which said that
223:Hassanal Bolkiah
220:Sultan of Brunei
197:Elizabeth Taylor
177:Walter Annenberg
124:Elizabeth Taylor
24:
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978:
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837:Famous Diamonds
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820:, p. 404.
810:
808:, p. 279.
795:
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766:, p. 336.
756:
754:, p. 277.
741:
739:, p. 228.
729:
727:, p. 278.
717:
715:, p. 227.
705:
703:, p. 237.
693:
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662:1800–present:
615:
613:, p. 275.
596:
594:, p. 278.
579:
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545:, p. 274.
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342:Princess Grace
332:, in Monaco's
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263:Jackie Kennedy
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201:Richard Burton
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34:(13.6 g)
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22:Taylor–Burton
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669:. Retrieved
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153:South Africa
149:Premier Mine
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53:South Africa
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806:Burton 2012
764:Burton 2012
737:Kelley 1981
713:Kelley 1981
689:Burton 2012
642:1700–1799:
622:1634–1699:
350:Monte Carlo
278:tax shelter
165:tracheotomy
143:Description
931:Categories
453:References
395:Edith Head
69:Discovered
523:1070-3845
379:ping pong
358:stockings
356:pairs of
303:editorial
183:1969 sale
647:(1992).
627:(1997).
430:See also
420:Botswana
972:Cartier
827:Sources
424:Mouawad
372:⁄
330:Kalizma
209:Cartier
171:History
128:Cartier
116:diamond
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326:Monaco
218:, the
193:Gstaad
77:Cut by
32:carats
27:Weight
654:(PDF)
634:(PDF)
101:Owner
911:ISBN
884:ISBN
863:ISBN
842:ISBN
784:ISBN
673:2024
568:ISBN
519:ISSN
338:Nice
122:and
114:, a
110:The
72:1966
44:Pear
907:228
401:to
348:in
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265:or
248:in
151:in
40:Cut
30:68
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354:¢
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