Save your pennies because a really big pearl is coming up for auction. You might have noticed I love chatting about how natural pearls are very popular on the auction scene these days. Buyers are loving natural pearls and their prices are staggering. Well, Woolley & Wallis, a British auction house, has announced that a really big pearl will go for auction on May 1st. Buyers get ready..
So, lets chat specifics. This is a natural pearl. The pearl weighs 33.15 carats measures 16.5 mm by 17.4 mm. It is a beautiful near round shaped natural saltwater South Sea pearl. It is estimated to have taken 10 years to form. This is an extraordinary size for a natural pearl. Here is a great comparison to what I consider a more classic 7-8mm pearl size:
It is big! A British woman had a pair of South Sea pearl earrings she decided to appraise and possibly sell. Well, one pearl in the earrings was a cultured pearl (with maybe 1 mm nacre thickness around a central nucleus) and the second pearl appeared to have a thicker nacre. So, how did jewelers discover this was a natural pearl? By X-ray. An x-ray shows what the inside of a pearl looks like. It is the only way to absolutely guarantee that a pearl is natural. A Swiss lab issued the following:
So now the pearl is ready for auction on May 1st. The estimated return on this big natural beauty? $400,000. That’s right, almost half a million dollars for one pearl!
India
I am a modern day treasure hunter who travels the world for gorgeous pearls and amazing adventures. I own a pearl jewelry and jewelry repair business, ThePearlGirls.com, with a cute retail store in Athens, GA. I also have a Pearl Travel business and travel blog at TheWorldofPearl.com.
