Diamonds & Rubies, introduced in 1993, was created as one of several companion fragrances to Elizabeth Taylor’s enormously successful White Diamonds. The name reflects Taylor’s lifelong fascination with extraordinary gemstones and her reputation as one of the most glamorous jewelry collectors of the twentieth century. Throughout her life, Taylor owned some of the world’s most famous diamonds—including the legendary Taylor–Burton Diamond and the Krupp Diamond, later renamed the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond.
Alongside these celebrated diamonds, she also owned remarkable colored gemstones, including magnificent rubies. Among her most famous ruby pieces was a stunning Van Cleef & Arpels ruby and diamond suite, given to her by Richard Burton in 1968. The necklace, bracelet, earrings, and ring—set with vivid Burmese rubies framed by diamonds—became some of the most recognizable jewels in her collection and were frequently worn in public appearances. These extraordinary stones helped cement Taylor’s image as a woman surrounded by brilliance and color.
The name “Diamonds & Rubies” carries rich symbolic meaning. Diamonds traditionally represent clarity, brilliance, and enduring strength, while rubies symbolize passion, vitality, and intense emotion. Known historically as the “king of gems,” the ruby has long been associated with love, power, and fiery beauty due to its deep red color. When paired together, diamonds and rubies create a striking visual and emotional contrast—the cool brilliance of diamond light set against the warm, glowing intensity of ruby red. The phrase evokes images of velvet-lined jewelry boxes, candlelight glinting across faceted stones, and dramatic evening gowns adorned with sparkling jewels. Emotionally, the combination suggests glamour, romance, and bold sensuality.
The fragrance appeared during the early 1990s, a period of transition in fashion and perfumery. The bold, glamorous aesthetic of the 1980s power era—characterized by dramatic silhouettes, statement jewelry, and rich, assertive perfumes—was gradually evolving toward the sleeker, more minimal styles that would define the later 1990s. However, in 1993 elements of that earlier opulence still remained. Fashion embraced jewel tones, luxurious fabrics, and elegant evening wear, while perfume houses were beginning to explore softer compositions that blended fruit, florals, and warm bases. Celebrity fragrances were also becoming an increasingly visible part of the perfume market, and Elizabeth Taylor’s fragrance line played a pioneering role in shaping that trend.
For women of the early 1990s, a perfume named Diamonds & Rubies would have suggested both luxury and romance. While diamonds conveyed timeless sophistication and elegance, rubies added a sense of warmth, passion, and dramatic femininity. The name promised a fragrance that felt glamorous yet emotionally expressive—something bold enough for evening wear but still approachable enough for everyday elegance. It allowed women to share in the aura of Elizabeth Taylor’s legendary glamour, wearing a scent that reflected her signature world of sparkling jewels and theatrical beauty.
Olfactorily, the concept of “Diamonds & Rubies” translates into a fragrance that balances brilliance with warmth. Classified as a spicy oriental floral, the perfume opens with a lively freshness touched by subtle spice. The top introduces the lush sweetness of living peach, whose juicy softness brings a velvety fruitiness that feels radiant and inviting. This fruitiness is complemented by living French lilac, a delicate floral note recreated through perfumery technology because lilac blossoms produce little extractable oil. Lilac lends a cool, airy floral sweetness that evokes spring blossoms in fresh morning air. Red rose adds richness and romance, its velvety petals suggesting depth and warmth.
The heart of the fragrance deepens into a more exotic floral bouquet. Jasmine contributes creamy sensuality and warmth, while cattleya orchid introduces a lush, tropical floral character often recreated through perfumery accords, as most orchids yield little fragrance oil. Heliotrope adds a soft, powdery sweetness with subtle almond and vanilla nuances, creating a dreamy, almost confectionary floral tone. Running through this bouquet is an exotic spice accord, giving the fragrance warmth and a faintly mysterious quality—like the glowing intensity of a ruby itself.
As the scent settles, the base becomes smooth, warm, and enveloping. Cedarwood provides a gentle woody structure with a dry, slightly aromatic character. Ambergris, historically prized for its soft marine warmth and fixative qualities, lends depth and diffusion to the fragrance, helping it linger gracefully on the skin. Finally, sweetened vanilla rounds out the composition with creamy warmth and soft sensuality, leaving a comforting, glowing trail.
Within the broader perfume landscape of 1993, Diamonds & Rubies largely aligned with prevailing trends rather than radically redefining them. The early 1990s saw the emergence of fragrances that combined fruity brightness with florals and warm oriental bases, creating compositions that were both approachable and luxurious. While White Diamonds reflected the rich aldehydic glamour of earlier decades, Diamonds & Rubies leaned into the evolving taste for softer, fruit-accented florals layered over warm, sensual bases. Its jewel-inspired imagery and opulent theme, however, remained distinctly tied to Elizabeth Taylor’s personal brand of glamour—ensuring that even while following contemporary trends, the fragrance still carried the unmistakable sparkle of her legendary style.
Fragrance Composition:
So what does it smell like? Diamonds & Rubies is classified as a spicy oriental floral fragrance for women. It begins with a fresh spicy top, followed by a floral spicy heart, resting on a woody ambery base. Begins with elements of the floral oriental category symbolized by notes of juicy living peach, living French lilac and velvety red rose accented by a jasmine, cattleya orchid, dewy heliotrope and an exotic spice body. Its base consists of cedarwood, precious amber and sweetened vanilla.
- Top notes: bergamot, orange, bay, living peach, living French lilac, red rose, Amazon lily, bitter almond
- Middle notes: rose, carnation, cinnamon, orris, ylang ylang, spices, heliotrope, jasmine, cattleya orchid
- Base notes: cedar, ambergris, Ambrein, tonka bean, vanilla, benzoin, musk, sandalwood
Scent Profile:
Diamonds & Rubies opens with a radiant burst of brightness and warmth, like the first flash of light across polished gemstones. The initial breath is lifted by bergamot, traditionally harvested from the sun-drenched groves of Calabria in southern Italy, where the coastal climate produces the world’s most prized bergamot oil. Calabrian bergamot is celebrated for its refined balance of crisp citrus sparkle and subtle floral sweetness, softer and more elegant than the sharper citrus oils grown elsewhere.
Beside it glows the juicy brightness of orange, whose oil—often distilled from Mediterranean fruit—adds a cheerful, sunlit sweetness that feels immediately inviting. A slightly aromatic warmth enters through bay, whose leaves yield an essential oil with a green, spicy scent reminiscent of clove, eucalyptus, and crushed herbs. This herbal spice gives the opening a subtle intrigue.
At the center of the top notes is the lush sweetness of living peach, recreated through delicate lactone molecules that mimic the velvety skin and juicy flesh of a ripe peach warmed by sunlight. The fruit’s aroma is soft, creamy, and nectar-like, giving the fragrance its signature sensual warmth. Alongside it blooms living French lilac, a note that cannot be extracted directly from the flower and must be reconstructed using a blend of floral aroma chemicals. This accord captures the airy sweetness of lilac blossoms in spring—fresh, honeyed, and faintly green.
Red rose adds depth and romance to the opening, its velvety petals lending a classic floral richness. Perfumers often combine natural rose oil—frequently derived from Rosa damascena grown in Turkey or Bulgaria—with additional molecules to enhance its radiance.
A luminous white floral accent appears through Amazon lily, a note recreated through modern perfumery materials because many lilies yield little extractable fragrance. This accord evokes the scent of fresh white petals with a watery, slightly green freshness. The final touch in the opening is bitter almond, whose aroma is created through benzaldehyde molecules. It smells warm and nutty with a faint marzipan sweetness, adding a subtle gourmand edge that softens the citrus and florals.
As the fragrance unfolds, the heart reveals a rich and spicy floral bouquet. Rose appears again at the center, fuller and more velvety than in the opening, enveloping the composition in romantic warmth. Carnation follows with its unmistakable clove-like spiciness, a flower naturally rich in eugenol molecules that give it a warm, peppery character. The warmth deepens with cinnamon, whose bark oil provides a sweet, glowing spice reminiscent of warm pastries and aromatic woods.
A refined softness enters through orris, derived from the aged rhizomes of iris plants grown primarily in Tuscany, Italy. These roots are dried and aged for several years before distillation to develop irones, the molecules responsible for their distinctive scent—powdery, violet-like, and luxuriously smooth. Ylang-ylang, distilled from blossoms grown in the Comoros Islands and Madagascar, adds a creamy tropical richness with hints of banana and custard-like sweetness. Additional spice accords weave quietly through the heart, creating warmth and depth without overwhelming the florals.
The heart becomes softer and more luminous with heliotrope, a delicate floral note that smells of powdered almonds and vanilla. Because heliotrope flowers yield little oil, their scent is recreated using heliotropin and related aroma chemicals that provide its distinctive sweet, almond-like warmth. Jasmine, whose finest oils are traditionally harvested in Egypt and India, lends sensuality to the bouquet—creamy, slightly indolic, and intensely floral. Beside it appears cattleya orchid, a lush tropical flower whose scent must also be recreated through perfumery accords since orchids rarely produce extractable fragrance. The orchid accord adds a soft, exotic floral sweetness that enhances the richness of the bouquet.
Gradually the fragrance settles into a warm, enveloping base where woods and resins create depth and longevity. Cedarwood, often distilled from trees in Virginia or Morocco, provides a dry, slightly smoky woodiness reminiscent of freshly sharpened pencil shavings. Beneath it glows the soft warmth of ambergris, historically produced in the ocean by sperm whales and aged naturally by sun and saltwater. Because natural ambergris is rare, its effect is recreated through aroma molecules that mimic its mineral warmth and remarkable ability to diffuse scent.
At the heart of this amber warmth is Ambrein, a compound historically associated with ambergris. Modern perfumery recreates its soft, slightly animalic warmth through synthetic materials that lend radiance and longevity to the composition. Tonka bean, harvested primarily in Venezuela and Brazil, contributes a sweet warmth rich in coumarin, giving the base a scent reminiscent of vanilla, almond, and freshly cut hay. Vanilla, traditionally derived from orchids grown in Madagascar, adds creamy sweetness and balsamic warmth. Modern vanillin molecules enhance the natural extract, amplifying its comforting sweetness while increasing its longevity.
Resinous warmth continues through benzoin, a balsamic resin harvested from trees in Southeast Asia, particularly Laos and Sumatra. Benzoin smells warm, sweet, and slightly powdery, with hints of caramel and vanilla that deepen the fragrance’s amber character. Musk, once derived from animals but now recreated entirely through modern synthetic musks, wraps the base in a soft skin-like warmth that allows the perfume to linger gently. Finally, sandalwood, historically sourced from the famed forests of Mysore in India, adds a creamy, milky woodiness that smooths the entire composition with quiet elegance.
Together these elements create a fragrance that moves from sparkling citrus and ripe fruit into a lush, spice-laced floral heart before settling into a warm, glowing base of woods, amber, and vanilla. Natural essences provide richness and complexity, while carefully crafted aroma molecules add brightness, softness, and diffusion. The result is a scent that feels both radiant and sensual—capturing the contrast suggested by its name: the brilliant sparkle of diamonds balanced by the deep, glowing warmth of rubies.
Bottle:
Dupe?
- Top notes: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
- Middle notes: orange blossom, ylang ylang, coriander
- Base notes: ambergris, sandalwood, musk