Avon x Elizabeth Taylor

In 1993, Elizabeth took her love for jewelry to new heights when she teamed up with Avon for the Elizabeth Taylor Fashion Jewelry Collection, a line of costume jewelry bearing her name. “I think for me to go into the jewelry business is a bit of a natural,” Elizabeth said. “And I’m thrilled to be collaborating with this world-renowned company.”

As with her fragrance empire, Elizabeth was very hands-on in the design and marketing of the collection. “Before I lend my name to anything I am very concerned with the quality, the design, the colors, the weight—with everything! Because it must be quality. Rather than just endorsing something, I wanted to help create something—and the idea of helping to create a line of costume jewelry fascinated me.” The line, sold in the Avon catalogue, was designed by Shaill Jhaveri, and included pieces inspired by such Elizabeth Taylor films as Cleopatra, Elephant Walk, and The Taming of the Shrew, as well as pieces from her own acclaimed collection, such as the Shah Jehan Pendant. Many of the designs were also influenced by Elizabeth’s love of Indian and Persian jewelry, and she even collaborated with her daughter, Liza Todd, an accomplished sculptress and fellow equine lover, on the Tandem horse brooch.

The designs, which have since become collectors items, ranged from $50 to $250, and were created “for women of all ages and accessible to a wide range of pocketbooks. Every piece has the ‘feel’ and quality detail of real jewelry. I hope everyone has fun with them. The collection has a lot of me in the creation, and I’m very proud of it.”