Until recently, the “Hope Pearl” was known as the largest pearl. This pearl is dramatically large, weighing in at 1800 grains- 450 carats- or 3 ounces, and two inches long. This giant pearl was once owned by Henry Hope a famous nineteenth century banker. Hope was one of the financial architects of the Louisiana Purchase. He is perhaps best known for the Hope Diamond. (Owned by the Smithsonian Institution).
The Hope Pearl is a freshwater blister pearl, meaning it grew with one side attached to the shell. This unusually shaped baroque pearl, is a product of a freshwater mussel, not an oyster.