When we think of yachts that embody timeless elegance, our minds often gravitate towards megayachts. However, there is particular allure in a classic yacht like the 46-metre Kalizma, which penetrates beyond the aestheticism into the heart and soul of the vessel. Built in 1906 by Ramage & Ferguson Leith, she is the oldest motor yacht still cruising the seas, her rich history keeping her soul young. She has been a haven for celebrities and royals, offering a hedonistic escape for world-renowned tycoons and Hollywood stars, including Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
It was onboard the Kalizma that Burton was to offer the most extravagant gift of his marriage to Taylor. In 1966, South African Premier Mine discovered the 241-carat diamond, which was cut into a pear and sold to Harriet Annenberg Ames. Acquiring this rare piece was no small feat; Burton apparently lost out on the auction while calling from a public payphone in Buckinghamshire, England. Burton was reportedly furious at his loss, having budgeted an enormous 1 million for the diamond, well-surpassing any diamond sale ever recorded. Bidders in the notorious auction included Aristotle Onassis and the Sultan de Brunei, but Robert Kenmore, chairman of the Cartier parent company Kenton Corporation, outbid all. Having learned this news, Burton, in his determination to acquire the rare pear-cut diamond for his beloved wife, completed the sale with Cartier for a generous end price of 1.1 million dollars on condition that Cartier would showcase it in their Chicago and New York boutiques.
Ames owned the precious stone for only two years before deciding to part with it because she felt it was unbecoming to wear such a boastful ring in New York City. For similar reasons, Taylor and Burton had it set into a magnificent necklace before it left Cartier. In 1969, Burton presented the necklace to Taylor onboard Kalizma in Monaco in time for its debut appearance at Princess Grace’s fittingly lavish 40th birthday party, the ‘Scorpio Ball’, at the Hermitage Hotel in Monte Carlo.
With her history entwined with elegance, passion and luxury, worthy admirers have recognised Kalizma as a treasure and have since given her new leases of life to ascertain that Kalizma’s soul lives on and her classic elegance withstands the test of time. In 2006, Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya, owner of the Sahara Force India Formula One team, restored the yacht, modernising her onboard technology. However, following a series of unpaid bills, Kalizma was once again left for dead, taking her glamorous history down with her.
Kalizma’s current owner, Omani philanthropist and businessman Shirish Saraf, who first visited the superyacht in the Port of Dubai with his father, fell in love with her ageless soul. In 2019, Saraf purchased Kalizma and, a year later, began a comprehensive refit to restore her to her former opulence that onlookers once marvelled at in the 60s and 70s. Saraf’s extensive restoration project, a testament to his passion and dedication, included the removal of the top deck spa pool to ensure that Kalizma would regain her RINA classification. Despite her radical interior modifications, Saraf has preserved Kalizma’s elegance and classical character, keeping her soul untouched.
Kalizma, lovingly referred to by Saraf as the “Orient Express of the Seas”, is available for charter with Morley Yachts.
