Kim Kardashian wears Elizabeth Taylor’s $6.1 million Bulgari necklace in Rome

US reality television star Kim Kardashian has worn an emerald and diamond necklace once owned by Hollywood actress Elizabeth Taylor during a visit to Bulgari's archives in Rome, in an experience arranged as a birthday surprise by her stylist, Law Roach.

US reality television star Kim Kardashian has worn an emerald and diamond necklace once owned by Hollywood actress Elizabeth Taylor during a visit to Bulgari’s archives in Rome, in an experience arranged as a birthday surprise by her stylist, Law Roach.

Kardashian tried on the historic necklace during a promotional trip for the television drama All’s Fair. She shared the experience in an Instagram video, telling Roach during a FaceTime call: “Law really pulled some strings.”

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Roach described the opportunity as unprecedented, saying: “Nobody’s ever done this before.”

Kardashian wore the necklace with a pair of similar earrings, but they were not Taylor’s original matching pieces, according to reports.

The necklace was made by Italian jeweller Bulgari in 1962 and was given to Taylor by her then-husband, actor Richard Burton, as a wedding gift in 1964. It features 16 emeralds surrounded by diamonds and set in platinum.

Burton had earlier given Taylor a detachable emerald pendant, which could be worn with the necklace, as an engagement gift in 1962.

The necklace was sold for $6,130,500 at a Christie’s auction in December 2011, while the pendant fetched $6,578,500 in a separate sale. Bulgari acquired the pieces for its collection. Their combined auction prices amounted to about $12.7 million.

Kardashian said she had spoken to Taylor by telephone about the jewellery before the actress died in 2011. She also recalled being invited to Taylor’s home shortly after her death, where she was shown the late actress’s jewellery collection.

Kardashian called the experience the “best birthday present ever” and described Taylor as an inspiration for her interest in fashion and humanitarian work.