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Originally Posted by PearlsOfJoy.com maybe its just me, my monitor or the picture - but am I the only one who finds grey pearls with a brown overtone... |
No... Clearly they are fine pearls, but definitely not the finest a queen of France might have had. The setting and price gives them their due...methinks. Would imagine that much of the value comes from provenance.
I ma not saying that those are not fine natural pearls! Just clearly not the finest imaginable. Perhaps their flaws stand out more because of their provenance: after all, the same ranks of folks mentioned as previous owners would indeed be associated with some of the most extraordinary jewelry. 'Guess 'provenance' works both ways: to pump up price, but also pump up expectations even more so...
Their imperfection also brings home the rarity of natural pearls. They were fit for a queen after all!
All these things that come to mind infront of a historic bit of jewelry. These things have a way of attracting attention, don't they
I can barely understand what it might have taken to assemble that set as it is.... Can't imagine the process of achieving a set like
THESE 
Perhaps some of the pearl folk posting here and dealing with naturals could come up with an estimate: how long and how much search might have taken to put such a set up (as the one in the necklace being auctioned, not the Youssupov picture)? Is it even possible today with how few new natural pearls are being harvested (as opposed to recycled from old jewelry)?