Kim Kardashian has fulfilled a long-held dream by wearing one of Elizabeth Taylor's most famous jewels, but not everyone was thrilled to see it.
The reality star, who turned 46 on 21 October, tried on Taylor's Bulgari emerald and diamond necklace at the jeweller's store in Rome on 23 October while promoting the second season of her legal drama All's Fair. Bulgari brought the piece out of its archives for the occasion, and Kardashian shared the moment on Instagram on Wednesday, 28 October, with the caption 'If these jewels could talk...'.
A clip of the fitting shared on X on Thursday, 29 October, has since passed 1.3 million views, and many of the replies were far less enthusiastic than Kardashian herself.
Kim Kardashian wearing Elizabeth Taylor's iconic $6.5 million emerald and diamond necklace. π pic.twitter.com/8kbqkYsdNY
— just emmaπ (@Just_Emma30) October 29, 2026
A Birthday Present Decades in the Making
Kardashian said the visit was a birthday present from her stylist, Law Roach, who also organised a photoshoot of her wearing the necklace. Her mother, Kris Jenner, joined her at the store.
"Are you ready for me to faint?" Kardashian asked as she arrived. Once the necklace was fastened, she said she could now start her year "with this Elizabeth energy".
The jewel has a romantic history of its own. Richard Burton gave it to Taylor when they married in 1964, two years after they fell for each other while filming Cleopatra in Rome. It is one of several pieces the couple collected from Bulgari's Via Condotti boutique. The necklace is set with 16 emeralds surrounded by diamonds. After Taylor's death in March 2011, the necklace sold at Christie's for $6.13 million. Bulgari later bought it back for its Heritage Collection.
Kardashian, who has long described herself as an "Elizabeth Taylor nerd", told Bulgari staff she had spoken to Taylor on the phone about the necklace before the actor died. She also revealed that she was invited into Taylor's home shortly after her death and shown her jewellery before it was cleared out. "I was able to see this stuff in her purple closet," she said.
Critics Say the Necklace Is 'Wearing' Kim Kardashian
The reaction online was less starry-eyed. One of the most-shared responses, a quote post with more than 6,000 likes, argued that wearing items that belonged to late icons does not transfer their legacy, adding that "the items are wearing her".
somebody needs to explain to her that wearing items of iconic deceased people does not make her iconic or transfer their legacy. half of the time she's not wearing the items, the items are wearing her. enough!!! https://t.co/VbTbP0NSPq
— TayoncΓ© Defense Attorney Cleveland Apologist (@lesbeyonsay) October 29, 2026
Others were blunter. Several users said Taylor would be "turning in her grave", while another popular reply joked that Kardashian was doing "soft necromancy". One user wrote that Taylor's iconic essence would not "rub off" on the Kardashian family simply because they wore her things. Some took aim at the styling instead, suggesting a strapless dress would have shown off the necklace better than Kardashian's plunging white halterneck gown.
She stays doing glamour via soft necromancy Lmfaoooo she ainβt slick https://t.co/75GWtJL3sM
— β β β§ ππππππ ππππ β§ β β (@jupitergrl_) October 29, 2026
A few drew comparisons with the 2022 Met Gala, when Kardashian wore the dress Marilyn Monroe wore to sing "Happy Birthday" to President John F. Kennedy. Claims at the time that the gown had been damaged were denied by Ripley's Believe It or Not!, which owns it.
Kardashian did have defenders. One fan argued she simply likes to wear things that mean something to her and has the money and access to do so, while another called her "an icon", adding that she was "very similar to Elizabeth Taylor actually".
Kim Kardashian's Long Fascination With Elizabeth Taylor
The fitting is the latest chapter in a fascination that goes back years. Kardashian interviewed Taylor for a magazine in 2011, shortly before the actor's death, and in 2024 signed on as an executive producer of the three-part documentary series Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar. She has worn Taylor's jewels before, too, borrowing a pair of the actor's diamond chandelier earrings from jeweller Lorraine Schwartz when she walked in Demna's final couture show for Balenciaga in July 2025.
Kardashian presented the Rome visit as a tribute to a woman she has admired for years, even if many online saw it differently. Neither Kardashian nor Bulgari has responded to the criticism.
