Fiery Passion

Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend

The fame of Elizabeth Taylor's engagement ring from Richard Burton is one that has been immortalized by the illustrious relationship. The stormy and passionate romance was born on set of Cleopatra in 1963. Their immediate attraction quickly led to scandal as Elizabeth was still married to Eddie Fisher when their affair began. Her fourth husband, who had famously left Debbie Reynolds, whom he had two children with to be with Taylor. 

The infamous couple's scandalous start was perhaps a foreshadowing of the ultimately doomed relationship. After a decade of being the most talked about and well known celebrity couple the two called it quits. Even after the fires smoldered the pairs super charged romance was conceivably realized as the most significant relationship to both Taylor and Burton. After all, Burton was the man who most contributed to Taylor’s precious collection over the years, an indication of how much she meant to him, and how well he knew her tastes. The pair even re-married for a brief amount of time in 1975 in a secret ceremony at Chobe National Park in Botswana after they told the public that they were still in love. Only to separate again less than a year later due to their frequent fighting and an inability to live together. 

The famous Burton-Taylor ring was actually gifted to Elizabeth by Richard after their wedding in 1969. It quickly overshadowed the original engagement ring with its brilliance. The flawless 33 carat diamond cut by Harry Winston himself is widely reported as being worn by Taylor almost every day. At the time the stone was valued at 1 million. Today the renowned stone is worth 4 million. Proving once again that a diamond really is forever even if the relationships they symbolize at the time are not.