Most Expensive Pearl Necklace Designs
The legendary Coco Chanel once said, ‘A woman needs ropes and ropes of pearls.’ Who is anyone to disagree with the legend? But if we could have just a single pearl of the iconic ‘Pearl Necklace‘ listed below, we would consider ourselves way too lucky. People say you never really know a woman until you see her jewelry.
Going by what we are seeing, the woman who owned these precious pearls and the woman who adorned these pearls are nothing short of royalty, in some cases royal. We have listed the five most expensive pearl necklaces ever sold for you to admire and gawp at:
La Peregrina
No list of precious pearls would ever be complete without a special mention of La Peregrina, also known as “The Wanderer” or “The Pilgrim.” This gorgeous natural pearl derived its name due to its 500-year long journey through history and royal collections. Originally it was found in the Gulf of Panama by an African slave, after which the precious stone was brought to Spain and presented to King Philip II, who gifted it to his bride to be, Mary I of England. After her demise, La Peregrina returned to Spain’s Crown Jewels and remained there for over 250 years.
By 1808, Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon’s older brother, became the King of Spain. Joseph Bonaparte was forced to abdicate his throne in 1811. The pearl was bequeathed to Napoleon III. The pearl, after his death, was eventually sold to the Duke of Abercorn in England. It stayed intact in the family’s collection for nearly a century before being purchased at auction in 1969 by actor Richard Burton for $37,000.00.
Burton gifted La Peregrina to his jewelry and pearl connoisseur wife, Elizabeth Taylor. The lady treasured her Valentine’s Day gift and wore it in many events for over decades. Taylor used the pears in their original form until she ordered the jeweler Cartier to design a show-stopping necklace of pearls, diamonds, and rubies to showcase the gem. La Peregrina stayed in the treasure of Taylor until her death. After which, the pearl was sold at Christie’s Auction House in 2011 for $11.8 Million.
The Baroda Pearl Necklace
The Baroda Pearls were an astounding seven-strand pearl necklace woven stunningly with matching natural pearls, ranging from 10.0 to 16.0mm in size. The fabulous necklace was originally treasured by the Indian Maharajas of Baroda, Gujarat, and remained in fame throughout history due to its rarity and glorious beauty.
Over time, the seven-strand Baroda pearl necklace was fragmented and distributed to various collectors. However, the largest of these pearls was redesigned into a large double-strand necklace of 68 round faintly drop-shaped pearls measuring 9.47 to 16.04mm. The ornament got its finishing touch with an exquisite Cartier-designed cushion cut diamond clasp. The redesigned necklace came in Christie’s Auction House in 2007, where it was sold for $7.1 million as a suite with matching Cartier pearl earrings surrounded by sparkling diamonds, pearl ring, and a diamond brooch.
The Big Pink Pearl
The “Big Pink” is one of the largest and finest natural Abalone Pearl kinds globally. This exotic pearl weighs a whopping 470 carats. The Big Pink Pearl stuns with iridescent flashes of lavender, green, blue, orange, and silver overtones and shimmers off with its natural pastel Pink hues.
The Big Pink’s exact origin is undiscovered, but biologists and gemologists believe that the pearl was grown by either the Red or Pink Abalone species. They are natives of California, Australia, and New Zealand and are best known for producing the most colorful and beautiful wild pearls in the world.
In 1990 the wild pearl hunter Wes Rankin discovered that the Big Pink was designed in a swirling diamond pendant mounting. The Abalone pearl pendant now resides in Petaluma, California, at the Pacific Coast Pearls company and is valued at $4.7 Million. The exotic pearl held the Guinness Book of World Records title of “Largest Abalone Pearl” ever found. However, in the discovery of 2010, an enormous 710 carat Abalone pearl took over the title.
The Duchess of Windsor Pearl Necklace
The Duchess of Windsor Pearl Necklace is an impressive single-strand natural pearl ornament that traces its legacy back from the Russian imperial era. The necklace was owned by Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, who in 1929 sold it to King George V. The king gifted the natural pearl necklace to his wife, Queen Mary of England. From Queen Mary, the necklace went to the British throne’s heir, Edward the Duke of Windsor, who gifted the same fabulous necklace to his fiancé Bessie Wallis-Simpson in 1937.
The Cartier of Paris designed it at the decree of Queen Mary. The striking single-strand natural pearl necklace includes 28 creamy-white natural pearls ranging from 9.2mm to 16.8mm in size, is possibly a genuine South Sea pearl of Australian origin. The necklace has a small choker length, measuring 14-Inches including the clasp. The pearls are symmetrically shaped but include a variety of round, near-round, drops, and buttons. The diamond clasp features two Emerald-cut diamonds of 2.00cttw approximately, along with two Trapezoid diamonds on either side, of the same size. The necklace is framed with 20 round single-cut diamonds of 0.70cttw approximately. At the Duke of Windsor’s request, Cartier incorporated an enormous drop-shaped natural pearl and diamond pendant and round pearls and diamond earrings to this suite.
In 1986 upon the demise of Duchess of Windsor’s, her entire jewels collection, which she acquired after a loving marriage, was transferred to the French Research Institute for liquidating her entire collection via auction. The proceedings went for medical research and charity donations. The Duchess of Windsor’s necklace was last sold in 2007 for $4.8 Million to Calvin Klein, who gifted it to his wife.
The Cowdry Natural Black Pearl Necklace
This glamorous, exotic natural pearl necklace is designed entirely using the naturally-colored black pearls featuring, Green, Peacock, multi-hued Aubergine, Silver, and Mink Overtones, laid over a Light Dove to Medium-Dark Charcoal Grey body colors. These beautiful pearl colors are extremely remindful of the cultured Tahitian pearls.
These single-strand natural pearls range from 6.8mm to 11.4mm, featuring 38 pearls of rare quality. The necklace included a large mixed-cut rectangular diamond clasp at the end.
Initially owned by Lady Pearson, the necklace was last sold in 2015 at the Sotheby’s Auction in Hong Kong for $5.3 Million.
We are in awe of these necklaces but owning these pearls will cost a big fortune. So, to consummate the love for pearls, you can check the recent collection of Jazron. The company has a wide range of necklace designs for pearls and beaded jewelry. The quality of these ornaments is extraordinary and they are available at a reasonable price.
