1969 New York, October 23. 'QUITE A STONE - This 69.42 carat diamond ring is displayed Thursday at Park-Bernet Galleries after it was bought for $1.05million by Robert Kenmore, chairman of the Kenton Corp., which owns Cartier's. It was speculated that the ring's next buyer would be Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis although a spokesman for Cartier's declined to say whether the firm had a customer for the gem or even to admit that the firm had bought it.'
Fun to find this article and photo from a few decades ago. As I wrote about in The Cartiers, the auction of this enormous diamond was extraordinary, and almost immediately after Cartier had bought it, they sold it to Richard Burton who gifted it to Elizabeth Taylor. Displayed in Cartier New York before being passed on to the Hollywood icon, it attracted huge crowds (2nd and 3rd images). Not long after that, craftsmen in Cartier London recalled the actress coming into the workshop above 175 New Bond Street to have the ring resized and polished, refusing to let it out of her sight for a second, while the craftsmen had act as if it was no big deal there was a Hollywood icon standing over them as they worked.
Later #ElizabethTaylor had the stone (renamed as the #taylorburtondiamond), remounted as a necklace which she wore to the 1970s Oscars (4th image). Burton quipped "this diamond has so many carats it's almost a turnip" while Taylor admitted "even to me, it was too big."
#cartierdiamonds #diamondring
