Elizabeth Taylor’s Dog-Chewed Pearl Sold for $11 Million

The drop-shaped pearl weighing in at a whopping 50.6 carats known as “La Peregrina,” which belonged to a succession of eight Spanish kings between 1582 and 1808, and eventually made it into Elizabeth Taylor’s Jewelry collection and into the mouth of her Shih Tsu who thought it was a special treat, was sold at auction yesterday with other pieces from her immense collection. After Taylor found the pearl in the mouth of her dog and managed to get it out unharmed she commissioned Cartier to re-design the necklace, setting La Peregrina with pearls, diamonds, and rubies. In case you are interested La Peregrina sold for $11 million – good thing the dog did not damage the Pearl with its teeth or swallow it have its stomach acid eat away at the pearl. That would have been one VERY expensive accident.

The story of the Pearl

Richard Burton purchased the pearl at the Sotheby’s auction for $37,000 to give to Elizabeth Taylor as a Valentine’s Day gift during their first marriage. Shortly after Elizabeth Taylor received the La Peregrina pearl, the pearl went missing in the Burtons’ suite at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas.

In her book Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry, Taylor writes:

At one point I reached down to touch La Peregrina and it wasn’t there! I glanced over at Richard and thank God he wasn’t looking at me, and I went into the bedroom and threw myself on the bed, buried my head into the pillow and screamed. Very slowly and very carefully, I retraced all my steps in the bedroom. I took my slippers off, took my socks off, and got down on my hands and knees, looking everywhere for the pearl. Nothing. I thought, “It’s got to be in the living room in front of Richard. What am I going to do. He’ll kill me! Because he loved the piece.

After few minutes of mental anguish, Taylor looked over at her Shi Tzus. One of them was apparently chewing on a bone, but she had not given them any. Taylor continues: