Elizabeth Taylor's iconic jewels coming to auction (AP)

NEW YORK – Elizabeth Taylor dazzled the world with her luminous beauty, lavish lifestyle — and an unquenchable passion for diamonds and jewels that was fueled by the great loves of her life.

The late Hollywood star amassed one of the foremost jewelry collections in the world, including a 33.19-carat diamond ring and a 16th century pear-shaped pearl from one of her seven husbands, Richard Burton.

The Associated Press recently viewed about two dozen of her most iconic pieces at Christie's auction house, which is selling her complete jewelry collection, valued at $30 million, in New York on Dec. 13-14.

"These are the top jewels that Elizabeth Taylor received from the great loves of her life, Mike Todd and Richard Burton," said Christie's jewelry expert Rahul Kadakia. "They're from moments in life that were very dear to her," jewels that were purchased in Bulgari in Rome, at Cartier in New York and at auction.

The stories behind them are as priceless as the gems themselves. In a 2002 memoir, "My Love Affair with Jewelry," Taylor took readers on a personal journey of her collection, describing in her own words how she came to own each piece.

"I never, never thought of my jewelry as trophies," she wrote. "I'm here to take care of them and to love them. . When I die and they go off to auction I hope whoever buys them gives them a really good home."

It's an extraordinary collection of rubies, diamonds, emeralds and sapphires in intricate and bold designs.

Among the standouts is the 16th-century La Peregrina, one of the largest and most symmetrically perfect pear-shaped pearls in the world, which Burton purchased for Taylor in 1969 as a Valentine's Day gift.

The two had met in Italy on the set of the 1963 film "Cleopatra," and married for the first time in 1964.

Once part of the Crown Jewels of Spain, the pearl later passed into the hands of Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon III and the Duke of Abercorn.

When it came up at auction in New York, Burton snapped it up for $37,000, beating out the underbidder, a member of the Spanish Royal family.

Cartier later created a ruby and diamond necklace from which the pearl was suspended, a design that was inspired by the famous Velazquez portraits of Spain's Queen Margarita and Queen Isabel wearing the pearl as a necklace.

It is estimated to fetch $2 million to $3 million.

Taylor, who was married eight times — twice to Burton — died in March at age 79. The couple appeared together in about a dozen films, including "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" in which Taylor played an alcoholic shrew in an emotionally sadomasochistic marriage.

Burton was enamored of historical pieces, and in 1972 purchased the famous 17th-century Taj Mahal diamond pendant for Taylor's 40th birthday. The transaction took place at John F. Kennedy International Airport because the couple didn't have time to run into the city before catching a plane, said Kadakia.

The heart-shaped diamond is associated with one of history's greatest love stories. It belonged to Emperor Shah Jahangir, who had the diamond inscribed with his wife's name "Nur Jahan." He later passed the stone on to his son, Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife Mumtaz, who died in childbirth.

"I would have liked to buy her the Taj Mahal but it would cost too much to transport," Burton remarked after buying it.

Cartier later recreated the diamond's original silk cord as a gold rope-like necklace set with rubies and diamonds.

The necklace has a pre-sale estimate of $300,000 to $500,000.

"Jewelry was a way of life for Elizabeth Taylor. They were her friends. She enjoyed wearing them and it gave her a lot of pleasure because they reminded her of the great moments in her life, the great places in her life," Kadakia said.

Like the time Taylor's third husband, theater and film producer Mike Todd, presented her with a red leather Cartier box as she sat by the pool at a rented villa in the south of France.

Inside was a ruby necklace, matching earrings and bracelet.

"She was so, so happy that she jumped into the pool wearing all this jewelry and started doing laps," said Kadakia, adding that the pieces will be sold separately.

One of the most extravagant gifts Taylor received from Burton was the asscher-cut 33.19-carat diamond set in a platinum ring. Known as the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond, Kadakia said its size and clarity — "as white as they can be and potentially flawless" makes it a perfect gem.

Burton purchased it in 1968 at a New York auction for $305,000. At the December sale, it's expected to fetch $2.5 million to $3.5 million.

"Elizabeth Taylor used to refer to it as her baby and wore it as much and as often as she could," said Kadakia, including in nearly all her subsequent films.

Among the pieces of jewelry that Taylor purchased for herself was the Duchess of Windsor diamond brooch, which she got at auction for $620,000. Kadakia said she paid a big price for it for two reasons, to remember her friend and because the proceeds were going to a cause dear to her, AIDS research.

The brooch is estimated to bring $400,000 to $600,000.

Eighty of the most iconic pieces will be sold on the evening of Dec. 13. The following day, 189 more gems will be sold. About 500 pieces of Taylor's costume jewelry will be sold online at the same time.

Christie's also will be selling the star's haute couture and ready-to-wear fashion, accessories, 20th-century decorative arts and film memorabilia from her Bel Air home on Dec. 14-16. Details have not been released.

Christie's said the top 80 jewelry pieces will be shipped prior to the auction to Geneva, Paris, Hong Kong, Dubai and Los Angeles; many of them also will be shown in London and Moscow. Serious collectors will be able to try on the jewelry by appointment.

The entire collection will be exhibited from Dec. 3-10 at Christie's New York galleries.

A portion of the proceeds from the exhibition admissions and publications related to the sales will be donated to The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. Proceeds from the auctions will go to Taylor's estate.

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Online:

http://www.christies.com

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Richard Gere to sell guitar collection at auction (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Richard Gere may be best known for his acting career but he is also an accomplished musician who has amassed an extensive guitar collection that will be sold at auction in October, Christie's said on Wednesday.

The star of "Pretty Woman," "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Chicago," has spent the last 20 years accumulating the collection.

It includes brands such as C.F. Martin, Gibson and Fender and instruments once owned by blues guitarist Albert King, Jamaican reggae musician Peter Tosh and acclaimed American guitar maker James D'Aquisto.

"What transpired over a lifetime is an almost encyclopedic representation of American guitar making," said Kerry Keane, the head of Christie's musical instruments department.

"This is an exciting opportunity for collectors and fans alike to take advantage of Mr. Gere's unrecognized talent for creating a cohesive collection."

The auction in New York on October 11 will contain 110 lots worth approximately $1 million. A 1958 solid-body Gibson Flying V electric guitar once owned by King is expected to sell for up to $90,000.

Another top item is a 1931 C.F. Martin D-28, one of the most coveted Martin designs, which has an estimate of $50,000 to $70,000.

Gere's collection resulted from a lifelong love of music that began with the trumpet before he taught himself the guitar and piano.

"They have been my true friends through the best and worst of times. I never planned to put together a collection. I just bought ones that I liked, the ones that sounded good and played well," Gere said in a statement.

"Some are very special. Although it's more than a little painful to let them go, each one has been played, loved and appreciated - and will be again."

Gere said proceeds of the auction will go to support humanitarian causes around the world.

(Writing by Paula Rogo; edited by Patricia Reaney)

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NYC Elaine's restaurant memorabilia up for auction (AP)

NEW YORK – Memorabilia from the famed New York City restaurant Elaine's is going up for auction next month.

The watering hole on Manhattan's Upper East Side was patronized by writers and celebrities including Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Mailer and Jackie Onassis. It shut its doors in May following restaurateur Elaine Kaufman's death last year.

An eclectic collection of art, barware and other items will be sold at the Doyle New York auction house Sept. 20.

Among the items will be the bar's vintage cash register and Table No. 1, a sought-after spot where patrons sat to see and be seen.

Two Andy Warhol prints and books signed by Richard Avedon, Katharine Hepburn and Truman Capote also are up for grabs.

The public can view the items at the auction house Sept. 17-19. A catalog is online at doylenewyork.com.

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Oscar statue from 1940s fetches $89,625 in Dallas auction (Reuters)

DALLAS (Reuters) – If you can't win an Oscar, why not buy one?

That's exactly what an avid movie buff did when a golden statue from the 1942 Academy Awards went up for auction on Friday.

A coveted collectible since Oscars are rarely for sale, the statue fetched $89,625, making it the star of bidding at Heritage Auction's movie and music auction in Dallas.

Nearly 800 items were up for bid, including items owned or worn by celebrities such as Elton John, Michael Jackson and Paul Newman, and guitars owned by Elvis Presley.

Heritage declined to release the identities of buyers. The company hosts auctions throughout the year, including a recent auction of dinosaur bones and an upcoming John Wayne auction in Los Angeles.

The Oscar statue was a rare item to turn up for sale, said Margaret Barrett, director of music and entertainment for Heritage Auctions.

A rule adopted in 1950 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences prohibits Academy Award winners or their heirs from selling a statue without first offering it back to the academy for a price of $1.

This Oscar, presented before that rule was enacted, was won by Nathan Levinson for best sound recording for the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy.

The film is a musical biography of entertainer George M. Cohan, starring James Cagney, who also took home an Oscar for best actor. The film earned eight nominations and won three Oscars, including Levinson's and Cagney's.

The Academy, which has given out about 2,800 of the hand-crafted statues since the awards began 1929, gave permission for the Oscar to be put up for auction and was offered by a private collector.

RARE MARILYN MONROE MEMORABILIA

The auction also featured Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, including rarely seen photographs from the private collection of Hollywood photographer Richard C. Miller, who died last year at the age of 98.

"Some of these images were from 1946, when she first started modeling," Barrett said. "Some of them appeared on the covers of old girlie magazines and haven't been seen since."

Marilyn Monroe was still known as Norma Jeane Dougherty when Miller started photographing her as a fresh-faced young model for the Blue Book Model Agency.

"He liked working with her because she was so photogenic," said Margaret Miller, one of photographer's two daughters.

Several of the old images, including Marilyn in the surf wearing a red bathing suit and Marilyn wearing a wedding dress, sold for about $1,500.

Miller again photographed her on the set of the film Some Like It Hot in 1959, and his photo of her in a sequined dress sold for $2,868.

Fetching $19,120, the most of any item from the Miller collection, was a model release form she signed with Miller in 1946 as Norma Jeane Dougherty.

The form was one of the more expensive items in the auction, along with a Pierrot costume worn by Elton John in two music videos in the 1980s. The costume sold for $14,340 and was presented to John by a German Pierrot in the 1970s.

(Editing by Karen Brooks and Cynthia Johnston)

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Bruce Lee items to be sold at Hong Kong auction (AFP)

HONG KONG (AFP) – Thirteen items belonging to the late kung fu legend Bruce Lee, including a 1966 letter he wrote and a fur-lined coat will go under the hammer in a Hong Kong auction next week, according to a report.

The sale, which could raise up to HK$880,000 ($112,900), is believed to be the largest-scale auction of his memorabilia in the southern Chinese city, where Lee was raised before moving to the United States in his late teens.

Items to be sold from his estate include a letter he wrote 45 years ago to a friend in which the martial arts specialist talked about the television series The Green Hornet, in which he played Kato, a confidant of the superhero.

"The item is meaningful in the sense that it can allow us to understand more about Bruce Lee's views and what he thought about his work at that time," Wong Yiu-keung, the Bruce Lee Fan Club chairman told the South China Morning Post.

Other items to be sold at the August 6 auction include a dark-blue fur-lined coat which was made around 1973 for Lee's film Game of Death, a membership card for his kung fu institute, and a name card of Lee.

The sale is jointly organised by auction houses America's Kelleher Auctions and Phila China of Hong Kong. Bruce Lee Fan Club and Phila China could not be reached for immediate comment on Saturday.

The Hong Kong government said last month that it has shelved a plan to turn Lee's old home in the southern Chinese city -- which later became a rundown love hotel -- into a museum, citing differences with the property owner.

Fans of the icon, who died in 1973 at the age of 32, have long called for museum dedicated to Lee in the city.

Lee -- credited with catapulting the martial arts film genre into the mainstream with films including Fists of Fury and the posthumously released Enter the Dragon -- died after a severe reaction to medication.

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Princess Diana dress sold at Toronto auction (AP)

TORONTO – A dress worn by Princess Diana when she danced with John Travolta brought in the top bid at a Toronto auction that featured some of late princess' well-known designer gowns.

The midnight-blue silk velvet dress designed by Victor Edelstein sold for 800,000 Canadian dollars ($821,000). Diana wore the Edwardian-inspired gown with off-the-shoulder straps while taking a memorable spin on the dance floor with Travolta during a 1985 White House state dinner.

Prior to Thursday night's sale, auction house Waddington's had listed the estimated selling price of the dress between 800,000 Canadian dollars and 1 million Canadian dollars.

Stephen Ranger, vice president of business development for Waddington's, says it will take a few days to compile a final tally of all 14 dresses sold at the collection.

Princess Diana died in a car crash in 1997.

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The Mouse is Mine: Paul McCarthy Blocks Auction of His Adorable Cartoon Critter Drawings (ARTINFO)

Everyone is familiar with the Beatles' transformation into cartoon characters in "The Yellow Submarine," and diehard Paul McCartney fans also speak fondly of "The Frog Chorus," another animated film based on a McCartney song from 1980. The holy grail of McCartney cartoons, however, is the fabled and never-released "Bruce McMouse Show." Sketches for the hour-long show — chronicling the life of a mouse and his family living beneath the floorboards of a concert stage — were scheduled to hit the auction block last week, but McCartney's lawyers suddenly blocked the sale, charging that the animator's daughter does not have the rights to the images.

Maggie Thornton, the daughter of animator Eric Wylam, counters that the drawings had been in her family for the past 40 years, the BBC reports. "My father was given a pile of scrap paper covered in rough drawings and I always believed they belonged to my father," Thornton said. "Hopefully it's all just been a misunderstanding." According to Chris Albury of Dominic Winter Auctioneers, the auction house attempted to contact McCartney about the sale back in March but received no reply. Then, shortly before the items were to go up for auction on Thursday, McCartney's lawyers blocked the sale, saying that the images are the property of the musician's company, MPL Communications.

The 26 drawings, which were estimated at ?25,000 ($40,500), were made by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney, and Linda's daughter Heather while on vacation in Antigua. They were then used as the basis for "The Bruce McMouse Show" in 1973, which included interactions between the mouse family and Wings using footage from the band's 1972 European tour. Maggie Thornton, who is one of the few people to have seen the film, told the Daily Mail, "I can see why it was never released. The storyline doesn't really work and some of the cutting between the singing and the animation isn't very good." The drawings, however, are extremely cute, as you can see in the slide show on the left.

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Michael Jackson's `Thriller' jacket up for auction (AP)

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – The jacket Michael Jackson wore in his "Thriller" video is hitting the auction block.

Auction administrator Darren Julien says the red and black leather jacket is "the most recognized and significant piece of pop culture" to come up for sale, and he expects it to fetch at least $200,000 at the Music Icons auction on June 25 and 26 at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills.

Jackson autographed the jacket as a gift to his longtime costume designers, Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush. He wanted them to use the small calfskin jacket as a template for his future concert fashions. A portion of the proceeds from its sale will benefit the Shambala Preserve, where Jackson's two Bengal tigers, Thriller and Sabu, have been living since the pop star left his Neverland ranch in 2006.

Other Jackson items up for sale include the wig he wore when he announced his ill-fated "This Is It" concert series in London, a fedora and spangled glove he wore on stage, his shirt from the "Scream" video and the battered mailbox from the Carolwood Drive estate where Jackson died at age 50 in 2009.

The Music Icons sale also includes one of Eric Clapton's guitars, Frank Sinatra's patent leather boots and 1986 Jaguar, handwritten lyrics and a leather jacket from Johnny Cash, jackets and a guitar from Elvis Presley, a signed harmonica from Bob Dylan and nearly 600 other pieces of music memorabilia from Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, The Beatles and others.

The collection will be on view free to the public from June 13 to 25 at Julien's Auctions Gallery in Beverly Hills.

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Online:

www.juliensauctions.com

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Charity to auction lunch date with Warren Buffett (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – If you have a couple million dollars to spare and a taste for steak, Warren Buffett is looking for lunch companions.

The San Francisco charity GLIDE said on Tuesday it would once again auction off a lunch with the legendary investor to raise funds for its programs, which include meals and healthcare for the poor and homeless. The previous 11 auctions have raised nearly $9 million.

Last year's anonymous winner paid $2.63 million for the right to dine with Buffett and seven friends at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in midtown Manhattan. The restaurant's lunch menu includes filet mignon starting at $36.50 and salads from $11.50.

Buffett, who was introduced to GLIDE via his late, first wife Susan, is a red meat devotee who encourages shareholders to visit his favorite Omaha steakhouse during his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting there.

The auction, on eBay's charitable giving site, begins June 5 at 10:30 p.m. EDT and runs through 10:30 p.m. EDT on June 10. Bidding starts at $25,000 and all potential bidders have to prequalify at www.LunchWithWarrenBuffett.com.

Last year, nine qualified bidders made a total of 77 bids, with the price nearly tripling in the last day.

(Reporting by Ben Berkowitz, editing by Maureen Bavdek)

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Christie's to Auction Elizabeth Taylor's Staggering Jewelry Collection

The late Elizabeth Taylor's great passion, her staggering collection of massive diamonds and rare vintage jewels, will be auctioned by famed auction house Christie's, sources told PEOPLE.

While Christie's is refusing to confirm the report and no date has been announced, the mag reports the auction house will disperse the collection valued at more than $150 million.

Taylor speculated before her death that one day her private collection -- said to rival that of some royal households -- would be "scattered around the four corners of the world."

The 79-year-old Academy Award winning actress, who died from congestive heart failure on March 23, had worked with the auction house in the past.

In 2002, Taylor allowed Christie's to host a public exhibition of her jewels, including the famed 33-carat Krupp diamond, the La Preregina Pearl by Cartier and the heart-shaped Taj Mahal diamond. That exhibition benefited her signature charity, The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.
Featuring colored stones such as suites of rubies, rare pearls and diamonds as famous as the actress herself, Taylor's collection is expected to attract great interest to the auction. Interest will surely pique if the sell-off includes pieces such as the Krupp diamond, gifted by her fourth and fifth husband, the late actor Richard Burton.

The actress behind the best-selling White Diamonds fragrance line was said to still wear the Krupp to events as pedestrian as matinee movies, accessorized with jeans, diamond bracelets and an Ed Hardy baseball cap.

Taylor's friend, jeweler Lorraine Schwartz, described the actress's attachment and appreciation to her storied collection: "She

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