Taylor Swift's $125K Suite of Opals That Once Belonged to Elizabeth Taylor Come with a Hollywood Backstory

Sabienna BowmanFri, June 19, 2026 at 10:00 AM UTC

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Taylor Swift in New York City on May 16, 2026; Elizabeth Taylor in Los Angeles in 1999Credit: Aeon/GC Images; Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty -

Taylor Swift wore a $125K opal jewelry suite once owned by Elizabeth Taylor to a date night with Travis Kelce

Elizabeth Taylor originally purchased the opals in 1999 and famously wore them to an HIV/AIDS advocacy event

Swift credits Elizabeth Taylor as a muse and says the actress inspired a song on her latest album

Taylor Swift's vintage glam comes with a Hollywood origin story.

On Saturday, May 16, Swift, 36, stepped out for a date night at Honey's cocktail bar with her fiancé, Travis Kelce, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for a wedding event. The "I Knew It, I Knew You" singer looked elegant in a gold Maria Lucia Hohan Allar silk dress with a cutout waist. She paired her shimmering gown with jewels that once belonged to one of her Life of a Showgirl muses, Elizabeth Taylor.

The matching chandelier earrings, ring and bracelet were all crafted in 22K yellow gold and set with black opals and natural Australian crystal designed by Darlene De Sedle in 1999. The set was sold for $125,000 to a sports agent in late 2025 and is assumed to have been purchased as a gift from Kelce to Swift. But before the suite became a present for the Grammy winner, Taylor's estate revealed the jewels were originally purchased by the Giant actress herself during a shopping trip in 1999.

"Elizabeth and I were out shopping one day at a store in West Hollywood called Crystalarium where Elizabeth discovered the opal," the actress' longtime assistant Tim Mendelson told PEOPLE in a statement. "She liked opals anyway, but what she found so intriguing about this one is that it formed in a clam and retained the shape."

Taylor Swift (left) and Travis Kelce in New York City on May 16, 2026Credit: BACKGRID

Taylor, who died at age 79 in 2011, most famously wore the suite of jewels to the Project Angel Food Angel Award ceremony in Los Angeles in 1999. At the ceremony, the icon was honored for her commitment to HIV and AIDS advocacy, as well as her charity work.

Interestingly, Taylor paired the earrings, ring and bracelet with an opal necklace that was designed with a personal touch. The necklace does not appear to have been sold with the suite on 1stDibs, but it kept the opal theme going for the actress' big night out.

Elizabeth Taylor in 1999Credit: SGranitz/WireImage

According to her estate, she wore a "one-of-a-kind diamond and opal starfish pendant" that she designed herself after she was inspired by a starfish given to her by one of her grandchildren

"After much consideration for what to do with this gorgeous opal, Elizabeth was struck with an idea!" Mendelson said in an interview with the estate's blog. "She picked up a tiny precious starfish her granddaughter had given her, positioning it with the stone against an 18k gold chain by Ilias Lalaounis. At that moment, the concept for the necklace was born."

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Jeweler David Webb made Taylor's idea a reality by creating a final piece that featured a "circular-cut diamond starfish set atop an opal clamshell, mounted in 18k gold and platinum."

Elizabeth Taylor's opal jewelryCredit: John Bigelow Taylor

As for the rest of the suite, it first sold at an auction at Christie's auction house in 2011 for $6,000. It was part of a larger estate sale that went on to make $156.7 million over the course of a single week, according to Taylor's estate. Around 14 years later, the jewels were added to the collection of the "Elizabeth Taylor" singer.

Earlier this year, Swift toldThe New York Times how the Oscar winner ended up inspiring a song on her latest album. "I'm riding in the car with Travis," she told the outlet. "I go on and on in explaining to Travis, like, why I love Elizabeth Taylor so much. She fought for artists' rights. She was exploited in so many ways, and yet she kept her humanity. She kept her humor. She kept her passion for life.' I was just going on."

"I was like, 'Her eyes were violet. Some people said they were blue. Some people said they were violet. I think they were violet.' We get home. He gets out of the car and I'm just in my head just this intrusive melody…. And I'm just scrambling to open my record app on my phone," she said.

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In an exclusive 2025 interview with PEOPLE, Taylor's personal chef Neil Zevnik shared that he believed the famed actress would have not only loved the song, it would have scored Swift an invite to one of her favorite holiday parties.

"Oh, she'd love it. Are you kidding? Taylor would've come over for Easter," he said.

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”