Whether it's the $5.6m sale of Marilyn Monroe's Seven Year Itch dress, or the World Record auctioning of Muhammad Ali's Fight of the Century trunks - both of which took place earlier this year - the memorabilia items of history's most important celebrities haven't disappointed in 2011.
 Elizabeth Taylor: still a star |
So who better than the "greatest movie star of all" (in the words of her biographer William J Mann) to round up this excellent year for collectibles? The star in question is Elizabeth Taylor, whose auctioned jewellery at Christie's is now the most valuable ever sold.
Taylor's jewellery collection brought $115.9m, four times more than expected.
Stars of Christie's sale included Taylor's La Peregrina pearl necklace which made a $11.8m World Record. But - you might ask - how and why are these jewellery items selling for so much while, everywhere else you look, there is talk of economic downturn and recession?
Well, you can attribute this $11.8m sale record to three major factors: rarity, quality and... media hype. Thanks to the media interest in history's greatest cinema legends, top auctioneers like Christie's (or Profiles in History, or whoever else) know their sales will attract plenty of interest.
Taylor is a particularly great example of the appeal of celebrity collectibles, because her private life fascinates bidders as much as her film legacy.
This is demonstrated in a video by the UK's Telegraph newspaper, featuring a home movie watched by bidders at Christie's auction...
One thing's for sure: the regular successes of celebrity memorabilia in the world's top auctions in recent years shows that such sales aren't flukes.
Choose items of great quality, rarity and celebrity provenance - and pleasure, passion and profit could be at your fingertips in 2012.
