Introduction
Because of their beauty, pearls have been used as ornaments since prehistoric times. For centuries, natural or fine pearls were the gem of the powerful and monarchs throughout the world. Among the most famous pearls, there's one that's impossible not to mention: the Peregrina pearl. This 445-year-old pear-shaped natural white pearl measured ~17.35 - 17.90 x 25. 50 mm and weighed 55.95 carats at the time of its discovery. At the time, it was the largest pearl ever found. In 1913, after cleaning, polishing and cutting, its weight was reduced to 50.56 carats. The Peregrina remains one of the largest pear-shaped pearls in the world.
A wonderful discovery
According to a letter dated 1579 in the Spanish royal archives, the Peregrina pearl was discovered in the Gulf of Panama on the coast of Santa Margarita Island in the Pearl Archipelago. This region, teeming with oysters, was particularly explored by Spanish colonists, after noticing the pearl ornaments worn by the native Americans. Pearls were associated with spiritual power, social rank and female fertility in pre-Columbian civilizations. The story goes that it was a slave who discovered it in a tiny shell. Bringing it back to his master, he was so pleased that he immediately freed him. At the time, it was the largest pearl in the world ever discovered.
Natural and cultured pearl science
A pearl is formed when an intruder (sand or parasite) infiltrates the interior of an oyster or mussel. The mollusc reacts by covering it with a succession of thin layers of nacre, forming the pearl. On average, only one oyster in 10,000-15,000 produces a pearl, and as many as 1 in 1,000,000, depending on the species. The chances of producing a pearl of Peregrina's scale and quality are incalculable.
The growing popularity of pearls among the European aristocracy and the nouveau riche of America helped decimate mollusc populations in the hope of finding THE pearl. The beginning of the 20th century marked the end of intensive pearl farming and the beginning of the development of pearl culture. Inspired by 13th-century nacre-covered Chinese buddha statuettes, the Japanese Mise, Nishikawa and later Mikimoto developed a method of producing cultured pearls by introducing a bead made of shell (nucleus) into the mollusc's mantle, forcing it to produce a round pearl within one to three years. The arrival of cultured pearls on the market made them more accessible to the public.
From the Spanish kings to the movie queen: a peregrination through the centuries
After its discovery, the pearl was sold to a Portuguese pearl merchant who brought it back to Seville. Destined to be sold to Rodolphe II of Habsburg, prince of the Holy Roman Empire and great collector of gems, it was finally sold in 1582 to Philip II of Spain for ~ 9,000 ducats, who wanted to acquire it the moment he saw the pearl.
Philip II offered it to his eldest daughter Eugenie, before reclaiming it in 1588 before her wedding to keep it in the Spanish crown treasury, in which it remained for almost 250 years and 8 kings. At that time, the pearl hung under a brooch set with a 48-carat diamond, the Estanque, considered the largest diamond in Europe at the time. Numerous paintings by Diego Velázquez on display at the Prado Museum in Madrid show the fabulous jewel at the neck of queens Marguerite of Austria-Styria, wife of Philip III, Elisabeth of France and Marianne of Austria, the successive wives of Philip IV. When not being worn, the pearl was kept in a small, custom-made gold cocoon that opened in two, cleaned and polished. This is presumably one of the reasons why it has survived the centuries so well, without dehydrating or cracking.
Painting exhibit the peregrina set in a brooch with the 48-carat- Estanque diamond. From left to right, portraits of (1) Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (~1606), (2) Philippe III, King of Spain (hat ornement) by Diego Velázquez (~1635), (3) Mariana of Austria, Queen of Spain (hair) by Diego Velázquez (~1660), (4) Marie Louise of Orléans, Queen of Spain, by José Garcia Hidalgo (~1679) and (5) Elizabeth Taylor (1977) with the Cartier necklace.
In 1808, Napoleon I invaded Spain and entrusted the throne to his elder brother, Joseph Bonaparte, crowned King of Spain for a short 5-year reign. When the French were defeated, he fled the country, taking with him some of the crown jewels, including the famous pearl. It was at this time that the pearl was nicknamed la Peregrina, which means "the nomade" in French. After his death in 1844, Joseph Bonaparte bequeathed the pearl to his nephew Louis-Napoleon, the future Napoleon III, then exiled in London, who chose to sell it to James Hamilton, first Duke of Abercorn in 1848. The Duke gave it to his wife Louisa Hamilton. At the time, the Peregrina hung from a fine chain of natural pearls, probably too fragile to support its weight. According to the legend, she almost lost it twice, but luckily the necklace was found and the pearl remained in the possession of the Hamilton family for over a century.
The necklace was offered for sale in 1969 by Sotheby's auction house in London. Richard Burton won the auction for $37,000 as a gift for his wife, the famous Elizabeth Taylor. The pearl made its way from London to Las Vegas, where the couple were staying, in the company of Ward Landrigan, head of the jewellery department at Sotheby's in New York. The Duchess of Abercorn's misadventure was repeated with Liz Taylor, who recounts in her book that, after 20 minutes of wearing the pearl, she wanted to touch her "talisman", only to realize that the necklace had disappeared. On all fours on the carpet, they found one of the actress's Pekingese dog chewing on an object. In its mouth was the peregrina pearl. Fortunately, it was undamaged and had only suffered a few scratches.
New setting
In 1972, Elizabeth Taylor entrusted the Peregrina to Cartier to have it set differently. Inspired by the ornament on Hans Eworth's portrait of Marie Tudor (1553-1558; the pearl was mistaken for the peregrina!), Al Durante of Cartier created a gold and platinum necklace. The necklace consists of a two-strand choker adorned with fifty-six natural pearls and four cultured pearls, interspersed with eight flame motif plaques adorned with diamonds and rubies. In the center, a suspension adorned with pear rubies, diamonds, a natural pearl and, of course, the peregrina.
Original design by Al Durante for Cartier. Cartier Archive
The auction
Elizabeth Taylor kept the Peregrina necklace until her death in 2011. On December 13, 2011, 80 pieces of jewellery were auctioned by Christie's in New York for "The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor: THE LEGENDARY JEWELS". An anonymous buyer won the bid for a record $11.8 million, quadrupling his original estimate for a single reason: its incredible history. Even today, this is a world record for a jewel with a pearl.
By Lucille Daver for Jewellery Business magazine (Canada):
References
Christie’s. 2011. Auction catalogue: the collection of elizabeth taylor : the legendary jewels, evening sale : la peregrina a natural pearl , new york, 2011
Krzemnicki (2013). Age determination of pearls: a new approach for pearl testing and identification
Perri, M. (2009). 'Ruined and lost': spanish destruction of the pearl coast in the early sixteenth century. Environment and history, 15(2), 129-161.
Shor, R. (2007). From single source to global free market: the transformation of the cultured pearl industry. Gems & gemology, 43(3).
Taylor, E. (2003). Elizabeth taylor: my love affair with jewelry : simon & schuster, 240pages
Warren, D. “pearl tales” conference at Danat institut: https://www.danat.bh/pearl-tales-by-david-warren-and-andrew-price/
Zhou, C. et al. (2017). Saltwater pearls from the pre-to early columbian era: a gemological and radiocarbon dating study. Gems & gemology, 53(3).
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