Famous Pearls

Note: Pearl sizes are most often expressed by weight rather than size. Common units are:

1 carat = 200 milligrams or 4 grains

1 grain = 50 milligrams

1 momme = 3.75 grams or ¾ ounce

1 kan = 1,000 momme or 3.75 kilograms

The last two terms (momme and kan) are primarily used in expressions about commercial harvests; the size of single pearls is expressed in carats or grains. For conversion to diameter, it is estimated that an average natural pearl from Venezuela weighs 2 grains.

Abernethy Pearl · the most famous and perhaps most perfect Scottish freshwater pearl, weighing 44 grains, collected by Bill Abernethy from an “odd-shaped mussel” in River Tay in 1967, now in a shop in Cairncross, Scotland; also called Little Willie (Woodward, 1994).

Arco Valley Pearl · baroque in shape, 575 carats, white with pink-brown hues. Offered by Marco Polo to Khubilai Khan, emperor of China (fide Adamas International web site).

Big Pink · largest known natural abalone pearl, 470 carats, baroque. Owned by Wesley Rankin, a diver in Petaluma, California. Listed in the Guiness Book of Records. Valued in 1991 at US $4,700,000 (Fankboner, 1995).

Charles II Pearl · found in Venezuela; said to closely match “La Peregrina” in size and beauty.

Dudley Pearl · sold by Fred Leighton to Jane Wrightsman, in the form of a large brooch topped by a large black pearl (F. Leighton, pers. comm., 1/00)

Eugénie Pearls · pearls included in a large jewel collection from the French Crown Jewels, auctioned at the Palace of the Tuileries in 1887. Many had been purchased by Napoleon Bonaparte for his wives Josephine and Marie Louise. Another collection of Empress Eugénie’s personal jewels was willed to her friend, the Philadelphia dentist Thomas Evans, and now resides at the University of Pennsylvania (Dickenson, 1968). See Queen Pearl.

Gogibus Pearl · Of 126 carats or 504 grains, pear-shaped, presumably from the West Indies. Purchased from the merchant Gobius by Philip IV of Spain in 1620, when it was said to be the largest pearl in Europe. He wore it as a button on his cap (Dickenson, 1968).

Hope Pearl · White (grading to greenish bronze at the larger end) irregular drop-shaped freshwater blister pearl of 1,800 grains (= 85 grams, 450 carats, or 4 oz) and 51 millimeters (2 in.) long by 114 millimeters (4.5 in.) in maximum width, owned by the 19th-century London banker Henry Philip Hope (also owner of the Hope Diamond now in the Smithsonian Institution Collection). Hope’s collection resided at the Geological Museum in South Kensington, England, for many years. This pearl was sold at auction in 1886, and valued at £9000 in 1913. In 1974 it was offered for private sale for $200,000 (Matlins, 1996).

Hopewell Pearls · natural freshwater pearls excavated from the Native American archaeological sites near Hopewell, Ohio.

Huerfana · “The Orphan,” collected in the Gulf of Panama, also part of the Spanish royal jewels. Reputed to have been found loose in the shell beds and not in an oyster. Noted for its large size, beautiful luster, and perfect shape, the pearl was briefly owned by Isabel de Bobadilla, the daughter of the man who sent Columbus back in irons.

Jomon Pearl of Japan · the oldest known extant pearl, dating back 5,500 years (Joyce & Addison, 1993).

La Pellegrina · “The Incomparable,” of 111.5 grains, perfectly spherical, silvery color. Brought to Russia from India in the 18th century. Originally called the Zozima Pearl, after a Greek gems dealer who served as the Czar’s jeweler in Moscow in 1827. A book of 48 pages devoted to it alone was published by a German author in 1818. Once part of the Spanish Crown Jewels, now lost (Dickenson, 1968).

Little Willie · see Abernethy Pearl.

La Peregrina · Large pear-shaped white pearl of originally 223.8 grains (later 203.84 grains) discovered in the early 1500s in the New World (undoubtedly from Pacific Panamanian Pinctada mazatlantica) and brought to King Phillip II of Spain (1527-1598) who presented it as a wedding gift to his wife, Queen Mary [“Bloody Mary” Tudor] of England in 1554. Subsequently it belonged to Queen Margaret of Spain (1584-1611) as well as Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain (ruled 1808-1813). Later it was acquired by the British Marquis of Abercorn from the son of French emperor Napoleon III. It was purchased in 1969 for $37,000 by actor Richard Burton for his wife, actress Elizabeth Taylor who still owns it. “La Peregrina” means “pilgrim.”

La Régente · Large (337-grain), natural, oval pearl bought in 1811 by Napoleon for his second wife Empress Marie Louise’s tiara. Subsequently given by Napoleon III to his bride Eugénie. Sold at auction in 1887 along with most of the French Crown Jewels; acquired by Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé. He in turn sold it to Princess Youssoupov of Russia. Few traces exist of this pearl after the Russian Revolution. It was sold by Christie’s Geneva in 1988 for $859,100 (Matlins, 1996).

Mancini Pearls · Large drop-shaped pearls affixed to earrings originally part of the collection of the Florentine ruling family dei Medici. Brought to France by Maria dei Medici when she married Henry IV in 1600. Passed to Maria’s daughter, Henrietta Maria, on her wedding to King Charles I of England. Henrietta sold them to her nephew, King Louis XIV of France, who gave them to Marie Mancini, niece of Cardinal Mazarin. Sold by Christie’s Geneva in 1969 for $333,000 (Matlins, 1996).

Mary Queen of Scots Pearls · One of the great early pearl collections, the best known item of which was a six-strand necklace strung as a rosary and consisting of more than 600 large, lustrous pearls. Many of these were purchased by Queen Elizabeth I of England; some returned to France (Dickenson, 1968).

Morgan-Tiffany Collection · A collection of 557 North American freshwater pearls, now at the American Museum of Natural History.

Pearl of Allah · The largest pearl on record, from a Giant Clam (Tridacna gigas) of 160 lbs, this specimen is 23.8 cm long, and weighs 6.4 kg (about 14 lbs). It was reportedly collected by a free-diving pearl diver named Etem, on May 7, 1934, at Palawan Island, Philippines (Jungbluth, 1999). At one time it belonged to Wilburn Dowell Cobb (Cobb, 1939), who allegedly received it as a gift from a chieftan of Palawan after having saved the life of his son. On May 15, 1980, Cobb’s heirs sold it at auction to Peter Hofman, a jeweler from Beverly Hills, California, for US $200,000. In 1966, it was valued at $3.5 million (McCormick, 1966). According to te Guiness Book of Records, the San Francisco Gem Laboratory has valuated it at US $40-42 million. Its present owner is unknown. Also called the Pearl of Lao-Tsu or Lao-Tse. See also http://www.thebeadsite.com/REC-PRL.html; Mangiacopra & Smith, 1998.

Pearl of Lao-Tsu · see Pearl of Allah.

La Pelegrina (“The Incomparable”) — Pear-shaped pearl (ca. 111 grains) of silvery luster, dating from South America (probably Pinctada mazatlanica) in the 17th century, part of the Spanish Crown Jewels. Given by Philip IV to his daughter Maria Teresa on the occasion of her marriage to Louis IV of France in 1660. Recorded again in the Russian Imperial Treasury in the mid-1800s, where it was sold in Moscow to Princess Youssoupov, and thence handed down in her family. Sold by Christie’s Geneva in 1987 for $463,800 (Matlins, 1996).

La Peregrina (“The Pilgrim”) — Pear-shaped drop pearl of approximately 203.84 grains. Discovered in Panama in mid-16th century (presumably from Pinctada mazatlanica). Given to Philip II of Spain who presented it to his bride, Mary Tudor, eldest daughter of Henry VIII of England. Sold to Richard Burton by Sotheby’s New York in 1969 for $37,000. Now owned by Dame Elizabeth Taylor. The names “The Unconquerable” and “The Incomparable” are mistranslations.

Queen Pearl · Among the first pearls found in the United States since Indian times, initiating a “pearl rush” in the eastern U.S. Pink, 93 grains (= 23.25 carats, 4.65 grams), found in Notch Brook (near Patterson), New Jersey, in 1857. Sold to Tiffany & Co., NY, from which it may have been probably sold in Europe to Cartier. It ultimately ended up in the collection of Empress Eugénie of France, around 1857-1858, perhaps by purchase from Cartier. Eugénie fled France (when Napoleon III was deposed in 1870) for England with her dentist Thomas Evans, and lived the rest of her life in exile. Evans is believed to have received many of her pearls in gratitude, which he donated to the University of Pensylvania dental school. Although several authors (Dickenson, 1968; Vertrees, 1913) claimed the Queen Pearl resides with other Eugénie pearls at University of Pennsylvania, no definite pearl could be identified by the present authors in 1999-2000. Some of Evans collection also resides in the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York City; the Queen Pearl is not identified within this collection. Also discussed by Cross, 1999.

Roseate Pearl · Pinctada maxima pearl from Broome, perfect round, roseate [pink] hue, murder mystery surrounding it, of questionable existence.

Sara Pearl · Drop-shaped gray pearl (ca. 220 grains) reputedly from Isla Margarita off Venezuela, which indicates a source of Pinctada imbricata. It is most likely “Pearl Number 3” illustrated by Jean Baptiste Tavernier in Travels in India in the 17th century. It was sold by Christie’s Geneva in 1992 for $470,600 (Matlins, 1996).

Southern Cross · natural baroque Pinctada maxima cluster (9 pearls) in the shape of a cross; originally sold for 10 pounds; later on exhibition at Colonial & Indian Exhibition in London (1886) where it was claimed to be worth 20,000 pounds; won gold medal at Paris Exhibition (1889); star exhibit at Great Wembley Exhibition in London (1924); in possession of C. P. Bennett, a London merchant (1933); searched for in England (1994) by W. Australian member of Parliament, Phillip Pendal.

Star of Asia · “world’s biggest [Pinctada] pearl,” 5½ oz. (2400 grains), eggplant-shaped.

Star of the West · Broome pearl [from Pinctada maxima] brought up in 1917 from 17 fms by a Japanese diver working for James Clark “the Pearl King”; an offer of A$20,000 by a Broome syndicate was not accepted; later displayed in Melbourne, Australia; auctioned in London for A$13,200.

Thiers Necklace · Famous necklace of Madame Thiers, wife of the first president of France, now in the Louvre (Dickenson, 1968). Consists of three strands of 145 large, almost perfectly spherical, graduated natural pearls.

Van Buren Pearls · Necklace given to President Martin Van Buren, and turned over to the U.S. government. Now in the Smithsonian’s collection of First Lady costumes (Dickenson, 1968).

Zozima Pearl · see La Pellegrina.