Elizabeth Taylor Collections generate unprecendented global response.
The Elizabeth Taylor auctions brought in a combined total of $156,756,576 at Christie’s in New York. In what turned out to be the most valuable jewelry and fashion auctions in history 26 items sold for over $1 million and six lots sold for over $5 million. Christie’s first ever on-line only auction brought in over $9.5 million in additional sales from the collection. It generated over 57,000 bids.
The auctions drew unprecedented interest from bidders throughout the world. They bid in person at Christie’s Rockefeller Centre saleroom, on the phone, on-line and by absentee bid. The sale of 1,778 lots of jewelry, fashion, decorative arts and film memorabilia far exceeded Christie’s pre-sale expectations and lots were frequently hammered down for five, ten or even fifty times their estimate. The jewelry sales, for example, had been estimated to bring in more than $30 million, but the combined total for two jewelry sales was $137,235,675.
All sales proceeds will be directed to the Elizabeth Taylor Trust. A portion of the profits generated by sales of exhibition tickets, event sponsorships and the ongoing sales of select publications will be donated to The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF). An estimated 58,000 visitors viewed highlights during an eight-city global exhibition and tour in Moscow, London, Los Angeles, Dubai, Paris, Geneva, Hong Kong and New York.