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Kim Kardashian has had no shortage of brushes with fashion history.
She wore Marilyn Monroe's dress to the Met Gala, bought Princess Diana's $200,000 Attallah Cross necklace, and now, she's been spotted in a set of $19 million jewels that once belonged to a Hollywood icon.
The Skims founder-turned-actor was in Rome promoting the upcoming second season of All's Fair, when stylist, Law Roach, arranged the 46th birthday surprise at Bvlgari’s Via Condotti flagship boutique.
It was there that she came face-to-face with a huge 60.5-carat emerald necklace owned by Elizabeth Taylor - and was even granted permission to wear it alongside the matching earrings for a photoshoot.
The necklace was made by Bvlgari in 1962, and aside from its impressive Columbian emerald roster, it also contains brilliant cut diamonds and set in platinum. Attached to it is a brooch that now serves as a pendant for the piece.
In fact, the item was a gift from one of Taylor's seven husbands, Richard Burton, after they starred in the epic film Cleopatra together in 1964 - which was filmed in Rome. It went on to become synonymous with their infamous affair.
"People are often surprised to learn that a fine emerald can be rarer than a diamond - nearly every emerald has natural inclusions", notes Brett Afshar, jeweller and founder of Queensmith.
"Finding a large stone with deep, even green colour and good clarity is incredibly difficult, so a 23-carat emerald of this quality is almost unheard of. With emeralds, colour is everything, and the finest stones demand extraordinary prices.”
The jewellery set last sold in 2011 following Taylor's death, reaching a staggering $6.58 million for the pendant, further $6.13 million for the necklace, $3.2 million for the earrings and $3.33 million for the matching ring.
Kardashian has never hidden her admiration for Elizabeth Taylor, either.
In a video posted to Instagram going behind-the-scenes of the occasion, she even recalled being taken into Taylor’s home after she passed away to look at her jewellery collection in the star's safe.
In the Season 2 trailer for All’s Fair, she's also spotted wearing the Tiziani piece Taylor wore to Princess Grace’s 40th birthday in Monaco in 1969, a party themed around the Scorpio star sign.
It last sold publicly at Christie’s in 2011 for $74,500. She paired it with more than $2.7 million of Leviev diamonds, a nod to the 69.42-carat Taylor-Burton Diamond that Richard Burton gave Taylor that same year.
All's Fair season 2 premieres on 4 November
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