In this webpage we have published an important table listing famous pearls/pearl jewelry/pearl settings that performed exceptionally well at public auctions, arranged in chronological order of their sale, begining with the Mancini drop-shaped pearl ear-pendants that sold at Christie’s New York in October 1979 and ending with the Seven-Strand Natural Pearl and Diamond Necklace, that sold for a staggering US$ 9,081,662 at Christie’s Geneva in November 2013.

Important information that could be derived from this table are also given below the table.

List of Pearls/Pearl Jewelry/Pearl Settings that Performed Exceptionally Well at Public Auctions Arranged in Chronological Order of their Sale

S/NName of pearl/pearl jewelryProbable period of originweight/no. of rows/no of pearls etc.Date of auctionPrice realized
1Mancini pearls -drop shape pearl pendants1500-1600400 grainsChristie’s New York Oct.1979USD 253,000
2Mona Bismarck 2-strand pearl necklace1920-1930Double-strand of 70 pearlsSotheby’s Geneva May 1986USD 410,000
3Empress Eugenie tiara1853212 pearls, 2,520 grainsSold to Friends of Louvre Society Nov 1992 by privately negotiated saleUSD 650,000
4Nina Dyer black pearl necklace1950sThree-strand/151 natural black pearlsChristie’s Geneva Nov 1997USD 913,320
5Barbara Hutton pearl necklace1600-1666Single-Strand/44 natural pearls/ total weight of 1,816.68 grainsChristie’s Geneva, May 1992Christie’s Geneva, Nov 1999USD 580,000USD 1,470,000
6Double-strand natural pearl necklace by CartierHistorical provenance not revealedTwo-strand necklace with 88 natural pearlsChristie’s Geneva, Nov 2004USD 3,100,000
7La Regente1811302.68 grainsChristie’s Geneva,Nov 2005USD 2,483,968
8Princess Margaret’s Five-row Art Deco Pearl and Diamond Necklace1948Five-Strand Necklace, Made up of 319 natural pearlsChristie’s London, June 2006USD 509,312
9Gulf pearl parure designed by Harry Winston1932-1978Consisting of a 4-rowed pearl and diamond necklace; 3-rowed pearl and diamond bracelet; a pair of pearl and diamond ear-pendants and a pearl and diamond cluster ringChristie’s Geneva Nov 2006USD 4,100,000
10Baroda pearl necklace1856-1870Double-strand with 68 natural pearls from the original 7-strand necklaceChristie’s New York April 2007USD 7,096,000
11Duchess of Windsor pearl necklace1910-1936Single-strand of 28 natural pearls. Total weight 1266.33 grainsSotheby’s Geneva April 1987Sotheby’s New York Dec 2007USD 733,333USD 3,625,000
12Yellow to Pinkish Orange Near-Spherical Nacreous PearlSecond largest freshwater pearl. 60.36-carats/ 241.44-grainsChristie’s Dubai, April 2008USD 713,000,
13Umm Kulthum pearl necklace1880nine-strand pearl necklace with 1,888 pearlsChristie’s Dubai, April 2008USD 1,390,000
14A superb four-row natural pearl and diamond necklace19th-centuryMade up of 219 natural saltwater pearlsChristie’s Dubai, April 2008USD 1,743,400
15Pearl necklace from an unidentified notable collectionHistorical provenance not revealedSingle-strand necklace with 41 natural pearlsSotheby’s Geneva, Nov 2008USD 1,321,110
16Multi-strand pearl and diamond festoon necklace of unknown provenanceHistorical provenance not revealedNine-strand pearl and diamond festoon necklace. Length 645mm to 1060mmSotheby’s Geneva, Nov 2008USD 946,610
17Pearl Carpet of Baroda1860Encrusted with 1.5-2.0 million natural seed pearls. Other encrusted jewels include diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphiresSotheby’s Arts of the Islamic World Auction, Doha, Qatar, March 2009USD 5,500,000
18Emperor, Yongzheng’s (Yinzhen) Ceremonial Eastern Pearl Court Necklace1722-1735Single-Strand necklace, made up of 108 freshwater eastern pearlsSotheby’s Hong Kong, April 8, 2010USD 8,700,000
19La Peregrina Pearl and Necklace designed by Cartier1513Double-Strand pearl necklace, also incorporating rubies and diamonds. Weight of La Peregrina alone 203.84 grainsSotheby’s London 1969Christie’s New York Dec 2011USD 37,000USD 11,000,000
20Five-strand Natural Pearl NecklaceMade up of 349 saltwater natural pearls. range – 4.10-11.35 mmChristie’s New York, April 2012USD 1,672,900
21Cowdray Pearl NecklaceSingle row of 38 graduated natural grey pearlsChristie’s London, June 2012USD 3,353,700
22Double-strand Natural Pearl Necklace by CartierMade up of 120 pearls. Range – 6.50-12.25 mmChristie’s New York, Oct. 2012USD 3,660,000
23Three-strand Natural Pearl NecklaceMade up of 180 natural pearls ranging in size from 4.95-11.05 mmChristie’s New York, April 2013USD 1,131,750
24Very Fine Natural Pearl and Diamond Necklace by ChaumetThree-Strand graduated natural pearl necklace. Pearls range in size 4.6-9.9 mmSotheby’s Geneva, May 2013USD 1,198,277
25Gina Lollobrigida’s natural, drop-shaped pearl and diamond ear-pendantsOriginally from the collection of House of HabsburgDimensions of the pearls 15.6×12.1×24.9 mm 15.9×13.8×23.3 mmSotheby’s Geneva, May 2013USD 2,391,322
26A Single-row Natural Pearl, Emerald and Diamond NecklaceMade up of 23 slightly graduated natural pearls. Range – 10.4-13.7 mmChristie’s Geneva, May 2013USD 8,460,675
27Seven-strand Natural Pearl and Diamond NecklaceProbably 19th or early 20th Century614 natural saltwater pearlsChristie’s Geneva, Nov 2013USD 9,081,662

©Internet Stones.com

See also  History of the Discovery and Appreciation of Pearls - the Organic Gem Perfected by Nature - Page 9

Please do not copy our tables without our permission. We may be compelled to inform the search engines if our content and tables are plagiarised.

Information that can be derived from the above table

1) The La Peregrina Pearl and double-strand pearl necklace by Cartier from Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry collection that sold for US$ 11,000,000 at Christie’s New York in December 2011, is the most expensive piece of natural pearl jewelry and natural pearl necklace in the world as well as the most expensive double-strand pearl necklace in the world.

2) The Seven-Strand Natural Pearl and Diamond Necklace, the subject of this webpage, is the second most expensive natural pearl necklace in the world, selling for US$ 9,081,662 at Christie’s Geneva in November 2013. This necklace is also the most expensive multistrand natural pearl necklace in the world.

3) Emperor, Yongzheng’s (Yinzhen) Single-Strand Ceremonial Eastern Pearl Court Necklace, made up of 108 freshwater eastern pearls that sold for US$ 8,700,000 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, in April 2010 is the 3rd most expensive natural pearl necklace in the world. It is also the most expensive natural freshwater pearl necklace in the world and also the most expensive single-strand natural pearl necklace in the world.

4) A Single-Strand Natural Pearl, Emerald and Diamond Necklace of unknown provenance, made up of 23 slightly graduated natural pearls, with a range in size of 10.4-13.7 mm that sold for US$ 8,460,675 at Christie’s Geneva, in May 2013 is the 4th most expensive natural pearl necklace in the world. It is also the 2nd most expensive single-strand natural pearl necklace in the world, and the most expensive single-strand saltwater natural pearl necklace in the world.

See also  History of the Discovery and Appreciation of Pearls- The Organic Gem Perfected by Nature- Page 4

5) The Double-Strand Baroda Pearl Necklace that sold for US$ 7,096,000 at Christie’s New York in April 2007, is the 5th most expensive natural pearl necklace in the world, and the 2nd most expensive double-strand natural pearl necklace in the world.

6) Double-strand Natural Pearl Necklace by Cartier, made up of 120 pearls with range in size of 6.50-12.25 mm that sold for USD 3,660,000 at Christie’s New York in October 2012, is the 6th most expensive natural pearl necklace in the world, and the 3rd most expensive double-strand natural pearl necklace in the world.

7) Single-Strand Duchess of Windsor Natural Pearl Necklace made of 28 natural pearls that sold for US$ 3,625,000 at Sotheby’s New York in Dec 2007, is the 7th most expensive pearl necklace in the world. It is the 3rd most expensive single-strand natural pearl necklace in the world and the 2nd most expensive single-strand natural saltwater pearl necklace in the world.

8) The Single-Strand Cowdray Pearl Necklace made up of 38 graduated natural grey pearls that sold for US$ 3,353,700 is the 8th most expensive pearl necklace in the world; the 4th most expensive single-strand natural pearl necklace in the world; and the most expensive natural grey pearl necklace in the world.

9) Double-strand natural pearl necklace by Cartier of unknown historical provenance made up of 88 natural pearls that sold for US$ 3,100,000 at Christie’s Geneva in November 2004, is the 9th most expensive pearl necklace in the world and the 4th most expensive double-strand natural pearl necklace in the world.

See also  History of the Discovery and Appreciation of Pearls - the Organic Gem Perfected by Nature - Page 6

10) The most expensive natural pearl parure in the world is the Gulf pearl parure designed by Harry Winston that sold for US$ 4,100,000 at Christie’s Geneva in Nov 2006.

11) The most expensive special natural pearl setting in the world is the Pearl Carpet of Baroda made up of 1.5-2.0 million natural seed pearls that sold for US$ 5,500,000 at Sotheby’s Arts of the Islamic World Auction, Doha, Qatar, in March 2009.

12) The most expensive natural, drop-shaped pearl and diamond ear-pendants that once belonged to popular Hollywood actress Gina Lollobrigida, and sold for US$ 2,391,322 at Sotheby’s Geneva, May 2013, is the most expensive drop-shaped pearl and diamond ear-pendants in the world.

You are welcome to discuss this post/related topics with Dr Shihaan and other experts from around the world in our FORUMS (forums.internetstones.com)

Please feel free to let us know if there are any famous pearls that are not listed here. You can do so by commenting below.

Back to Updated Tables

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. By browsing this website, you agree to our use of cookies.