Liz Taylor jewelry reigns at Christie's

Elizabeth Taylor's beloved jewels are shining a bit brighter.
Illuminated by the lights at Christie's, her 80-lot collection smashed the auction house record by pulling in a staggering $116 million (USD).
Among the coveted gems is a 33-carat diamond ring, named after the actress and given to her as a gift by husband Richard Burton.
Christie's Head of Jewels Rahul Kadakia snapped the gavel at $7,600,000 U.S. dollars.
(SOUNDBITE) Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry, Christie's, saying (English):
"It's a beautiful diamond, D-coloured, potentially flawless. And it was purchased for just 300,000 dollars in 1968, which was a fortune back then. And you saw in the room there were more than six clients, three on the telephone, three in room participating. One of whom stopped at five million dollar level and then came back in at six million, so people were waiting, knowing that the bidding was going to be long and very steady."
The "La Peregrina" necklace, first discovered in the Gulf of Panama in 1579, and yet another gift from Burton, drew a bid of $10,500,000.
The heart-shaped "Taj Mahal Diamond" that Burton gave Taylor for her fortieth birthday, set a world record for Indian jewelry at $9 million dollars.
(SOUNDBITE) Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry, Christie's, saying (English):
"But in my wildest dreams I did not think that we would outsell the estimate by five times."
The success of Taylor's jewel sale is putting a sparkle in the eye of the auction house, which is poised to sell the superstar's haute couture fashions on December 14.
Kilmeny Duchardt, Reuters.