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The Largest Pearl
14 pounds!
Now has an estimated value of $40,000,000.
This pearl is one from the Philippine Giant Clam. It was found near the Island of Palawan. As I talked about in the other article under "Types of Pearls" "Pearls from unusual sources, Conch, Quahog, Abalone and others. " Oysters are not the only mollusk that produces pearls.
Formerly the "Pearl of Allah", now called "Pearl of Lao-tze". Its diameter is 238 mm, and its weight is 6.4 kg! As it is a natural pearl, its weight is 1280 carats.
For comparison: a large akoya pearl, 7.5 mm, weighs about 3 carats.
I heard it is for sale, asking price 40 million dollars.
Longest pearl necklace
The longest single strand pearl necklace measured 150 m (492 ft 1 in) and was created and exhibited in store De Wan in Milan. Roberto Moschetto De Wan (Italy) used over 12,000 pearls to complete the necklace as part of the inauguration of the Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, on February 17, 2006.From the Guinness Book of World Records
World Record price for a single pearl, said to be pear shaped.
Another record was set for the price of a single pearl, when the drop-shaped "La Regente" sold for 3.27 million francs (US$2.5 million; Ђ2.1 million), three times the low-end estimate. This sold at Christies.
That pearl, which weighs over 300 grams (over 10.5 ounces), was given by Napoleon Bonaparte to his second wife Marie-Louise in 1811, Christie's said.
Four decades later, Bonaparte's nephew, Napoleon III, had the pearl set in a corsage as a wedding present for his future wife, Eugenie de Montijo, who became Empress Eugenie of France, reports AP.
Record price for a pearl necklace.
A record price for natural pearl necklace
A two-strand, natural-pearl necklace sold for a record price of $3.1 million at the Christie's Geneva Jewellery Sale in November. This is double the original record for a natural pearl necklace.
Record price for a cultured pearl necklace
The world record for the highest price paid for a cultured pearl necklace was $2.3 million at Sotheby’s in 1992. The 17-inch strand had 23 pearls with diameters ranging from 16 to 20mm (19mm is equal in size to 3/4 inch), with a bead-shaped platinum clasp with 60 round diamonds.
The Oldest Pearl
According to the American Museum of Natural History, the oldest known pearl is a good deal older than 3000 to 4000 years, which they say is the age most commonly given when talking about pearl artifacts. Some of the most beautiful fossil pearls, approximately 50 million years old, are from a bivalve Pinna affinis.These pearls found in England, have retained their beautiful luster, which they say is due to the fact that they were embedded in a clay matrix.
So if you take care of your pearls, they can last forever (or at least 50 million years).
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