oktober 28, 2019
What do you know about La Perla Peregrina?
La Peregrina is probably the most documented pearl in history, with a provenance that runs unbroken from the late 16th century: from Philip II of Spain down to Charles IV, then to Joseph Bonaparte of France in 1808, and later in Britain to the Duke of Abercorn in 1848. It is a drop-shaped natural pearl, nacreous, reportedly fished off Panama, most likely from the Panamic pearl oyster Pinctada mazatlanica. It weighs 202.24 pearl grains, equal to 50.56 carats at the old rate of one grain to a quarter carat, and measures 17.35-17.90 x 25.25 mm, which is enormous for a natural drop. In 1969 the actor Richard Burton bought it at auction for $37,000 as a Valentine's Day gift for his wife, Elizabeth Taylor. In 1972 it was reset into a necklace by Cartier to a design Taylor sketched herself, combining the historic drop with 57 more natural pearls, 4 cultured pearls, rubies and diamonds. The cultured pearls were disclosed as cultured. In 2011 the necklace went to sale at Christie's New York against a $2-3 million estimate and sold for $11,842,500, a record for any pearl at auction at the time. Photos © Christie's 2011
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