Kim Kardashian Wears Elizabeth Taylor's Bulgari Emerald Necklace

Kim Kardashian recently got the birthday gift of a lifetime, and it came straight out of Elizabeth Taylor's jewelry box.

The SKIMS founder tried on the legendary actress's emerald and diamond Bulgari necklace in Rome, then shared the moment in an Instagram video on Wednesday, Oct. 28. Along the way, she revealed a surprising piece of her own history with Taylor: she was invited into the late star's home after her death to see her famous jewelry collection.

"When she passed away, I was brought into her home and shown her safe with all of her jewelry before they cleared it out," Kardashian, 46, said in the clip.

She captioned the post simply, "If these jewels could talk…," tagging both @elizabethtaylor and @bvlgari.

Kim Kardashian's Instagram video.

A necklace pulled from the Bulgari archives

The video takes viewers to Bulgari in Rome, where the jeweler's team brought the necklace out of its archives for Kardashian to see up close. Members of the team fastened the piece around her neck, along with a pair of earrings that, according to reports, were not Taylor's original matching pair.

The visit took place during Kardashian's trip to Rome to promote the second season of her Hulu series, All's Fair.

The whole thing was set up by her longtime stylist, Law Roach. Kardashian made sure he got the credit.

"Law really pulled some strings," she said in the video.

She even FaceTimed Roach to show him the necklace. "I don't know how you did this," she told him.

"The best birthday present ever"

The timing made the moment even sweeter. Kardashian celebrated her 46th birthday on Wednesday, Oct. 21, a week before the video was posted, and she treated the experience like a belated gift.

"This is like the best birthday present ever," she said.

She also called the visit the perfect way to kick off a new year of her life. "Now I can start my year with this Elizabeth energy," Kardashian said, according to Hola.

Kardashian's mom, Kris Jenner, was with her in Rome and joined her for the visit.

When the conversation turned to the gifts Taylor received from her husbands, the momager had a one-line review: "What a guy!"

Inside Elizabeth Taylor's home

The most surprising part of the video wasn't the necklace itself. It was Kardashian's story about how close she once got to Taylor's collection.

Taylor died in March 2011 at age 79. Kardashian explained that, shortly afterward, she was invited into the actress's home before its contents were packed up.

She said she was able to go in "right after she passed."

She described seeing Taylor's safe, still filled with her jewelry, and even her clothes. "I was able to see this stuff in her purple closet," Kardashian recalled.

Taylor's famous violet eyes were part of her Hollywood legend, so a purple closet fits the legend perfectly.

Kardashian also shared that she had a personal connection to this exact piece before Taylor's death.

"I was lucky enough to have a phone conversation with her about this piece," she said.

The story behind the emerald necklace

The necklace has a history worthy of its own movie.

It was a gift from Richard Burton, Taylor's costar in the 1963 epic Cleopatra and the man she married and divorced twice. Taylor was married eight times to seven men, and her two marriages to Burton came with some of the jewels she is best remembered for. Bulgari made the necklace in 1962, and accounts of the occasion vary. Some reports describe it as a wedding gift from around 1964, while others describe the emerald pieces as an engagement gift.

Either way, the suite became part of one of the most valuable jewelry collections in the world. Taylor was known for her love of fine jewels, and many of her best-known pieces came from Burton.

After her death, Taylor's collection went up for auction at Christie's in December 2011, where the jewelry sale brought in more than $137 million. Bulgari bought the emerald pieces back at that sale, and the brand has kept them in its archives ever since.

The jeweler doesn't lend them out often. In 2013, Julianne Moore wore the necklace at a Bulgari event in Los Angeles where Taylor's jewels were on display, and other stars have worn it over the years. Now, Kardashian joins that list.

Kim's longtime Elizabeth Taylor obsession

For Kardashian, the moment was the latest chapter in a fascination with Taylor that goes back years.

Kardashian has called herself a "huge Elizabeth Taylor nerd" in Harper's Bazaar.

She's backed that up with plenty of action. In January 2024, it was announced that Kardashian would executive produce and appear in a three-part docuseries about Taylor for the BBC. In July 2025, she wore Taylor's diamond chandelier earrings on the runway at Balenciaga's couture show, a pair that came from jeweler Lorraine Schwartz's personal archive. Those earrings were originally a gift to Taylor from her third husband, producer Mike Todd.

Kardashian has a history of wearing pieces tied to Hollywood legends. At the 2022 Met Gala, she famously stepped out in the dress Marilyn Monroe wore to sing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" to John F. Kennedy.

Read more: Kim Kardashian's Schiaparelli look

Taylor's influence on All's Fair

Taylor has also found her way into Kardashian's acting work. On All's Fair, the legal drama from Ryan Murphy, Kardashian plays divorce attorney Allura Grant. In the Season 2 trailer, her character wears a cape nearly identical to the black, scorpion-embellished cloak that Taylor wore to Princess Grace of Monaco's 40th birthday party in 1969.

The family connection to that night runs even deeper. Jenner owns the cloak, and Kardashian has said on Instagram Stories that her mom let her wear it in All's Fair. Jenner herself wore the cloak on the red carpet at the show's premiere in Rome on Saturday, Oct. 24.

In other words, the Taylor tributes have been a family affair for the Kardashian-Jenner clan this fall.

The Rome trip, which included the show's red carpet premiere in the city, gave Kardashian the perfect setting to lean into the connection. Bulgari, after all, was founded in Rome, and the city is where Taylor and Burton's famous romance began during the filming of Cleopatra.

All's Fair Season 2 premieres on Hulu on Wednesday, Nov. 4.

A full-circle moment

Fifteen years after she stood in front of Taylor's safe, Kardashian finally got to wear one of its most famous treasures.

Between the phone call with Taylor, the visit to her home and now the necklace itself, it's clear this was about more than a fitting for her. As Kardashian put it, it was the "best birthday present ever."