It's Always Sunny in LA: Bonus: The Elizabeth Taylor Jewelry Collection

When Elizabeth Taylor died last March, every Hollywood trade publication had beautiful black and white pictures of her on their covers, with tributes to her iconic life, crusading philanthropy and legendary film career. After the initial eulogies, they started talking about her other, and most fabulous legacy: her jewels.

Unlike most stars these days who just borrow their jewels for the red carpet, Liz Taylor actually had an impressive private collection. When her estate announced that every single piece of her collection was going to be auctioned off, my boss (who is a fan of anything old-school Hollywood glam) and I obsessed together over the auction catalog. The Taylor-Burton diamond, the Taj Mahal diamond, the Mike Todd diamond chandelier earrings, la Peregrina (the legendary pearl), the ping-pong diamond rings... not to mention the sapphires, Cartier rubies and Bulgari emeralds. We read stories about where each of the jewels came from - most were from her ex-husbands (and she had 7 of them, so you can imagine how much jewelry they bought her) and others were bought for her by the studios she worked for (given to her on the first day on set, to "guarantee" from her that she would be well-behaved and keep her diva-demands in check during filming). True to Taylor's over-the-top lifestyle, these jewels are all larger-than-life. She actually wore her 33-carat diamond ring from husband Richard Burton every day. Women these days just aren't on her level.

And then it was announced that before the jewelry collection went on auction at Christie's in New York, it would be going on a 7-city exhibition around the world, with a stop in Los Angeles at the Museum of Contemporary Art. I went online and bought 4 tickets before I even knew who to go with. For $20 each, Marsha, Barbara, my mom and I got to see all the famed gems, plus other artifacts like a script from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, all 3 of her Academy Awards, 2 original "Liz" Warhols, and some fabulous 70's and 80's couture.

Since words can't really do a 33-carat internally flawless diamond justice, I will just post the pictures. There are other beautiful (professional) pictures you can look at here. Overall, the experience was once-in-a-lifetime and I am SO GLAD I was able to see the famed collection in person!

The Taylor-Burton diamond. 33.19 carats, internally flawless. Given to Liz by Richard Burton for their first marriage.

La Peregrina, or "the legendary pearl" was once part of the crown jewels of Spain. Now it sits in a Cartier-designed necklace of pearls, diamonds and rubies.