Imperial Tiara made of 171 natural pearls

[JBazar]

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The meaning behind this tiara is as valuable to my family as its worth. It doesn't take much to see that this piece is something extraordinary. Whether it be the one hundred and seventy one natural South Sea pearls, the fortune of diamonds complimenting the pearls, or the platinum in which the magnificent pearls rest. While even one of these elements might take your breath away...all together, leaves me speechless.



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This beauty has been with our company, Imperial, since the 1940?s, which is prior to my family's ownership. When my grandfather purchased the company in 1971 with the transfer of ownership, came the tiara. It has been a piece that has not only become a symbol to us of the beauty and elegance, which pearls possess, but has provided inspiration for our logo as well.

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I was presented with the task of photographing the Tiara in preparation for the AGTA show in Tucson where it will be on display with the Cultured Pearl Association of America. If you happen to be at the show please stop by their booth and take a look at the tiara along with gems on display from other companies.

The center pearl resting on the peak of the tiara was coined the ?Star of the Celebes?. Celebes is an island in Indonesia that is more recently known as Sulawesi. That particular pearl weighs in at 56 grains. The 170 other pearls range in color from golden, rose, silver blue, Smokey gray and a distinct blue. The total diamond weight is unknown.

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[pattye]

We love seeing these spectacular pieces! Do you know who made this? Has anyone ever worn it? The variation of color is fascinating!

 

[Hanaleimom]

It took my breath away. What a beauty!

 

[kojimapearl]

I had a feeling tiara's were making a comeback! Thanks for sharing the photos and the provenance. I will definitely stop by to see this in person at the Tucson AGTA show!

 

[pearlescence]

I hope it gets worn and doesn't just sit in a vault being valuable.
It is a truely lovely piece

 

[JBazar]

Unfortunately this isn’t a piece that you will see being worn out and about, however it does not sit in a dark vault either. The Tiara along with a few other incredible pieces are kept in a showcase in my Grandfathers office. The tiara does however get a great deal of attention. We often conduct factory tours to our friends and clients where we always stop by the case and give a brief history.

In an age before Facebook, forums and Internet marketing, prized custom made pieces brought a great deal of attention to our company. After it’s construction the tiara went on tour where it was shown at high-end jewelry stores, trade shows, and other exhibits. This was a common marketing tactic of Joseph Goldstone the former owner of the Imperial Pearl Syndicate. Some of the pieces that he commissioned to be created consisted of, a cultured pearl hand bag made of twelve thousand individually sewn pearls, A dress made entirely of cultured pearls to be modeled at shows, The united states capital building made of 217,569 Akoya pearls, a replica of the Trylon and Perisphere made entirely of pearls for the 1939-1940 worlds fair and the golden gate bridge made of Akoyas.

Pay close attention to the image of this Imperial spokes woman below, notice she is wearing not only the tiara, but the pearl dress, our 26x39mm natural South Sea pearl pendant, and standing behind the capital building as well.

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Ad's from the 1940's

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[pearlescence]

You could try lending it to Kate Middleton?

 

[Ash]

The tiara is very pretty! Congratulations on owning such a piece! The legacy it has along with it is wonderful. Thank you for sharing some of it's history!

 

[Pearly Shell]

Truly stunning piece. Thank you for sharing it with us!

 

[Orient]

Very nice piece. However, I am confused by the conflicting descriptions given by the original poster and the "cuttings" describing it. In the original post we are told they are "natural" pearls and in some of the text "cultured pearls". So which is it? From the values given and original cuttings it looks like they are cultured. Would be good to state clearly what they are. This is an ongoing problem in the pearl trade. Pearls are often inaccurately labeled or described by those who should know better.

 

[JBazar]

My deepest apology for all of the confusion "orient". You know in the late 40's earls 50's there were actually not that many retail jewelers that could be classified as experts in the field of deciphering cultured and natural pearls. I thought my descriptions had clearly stated that the tiara was made of 100% natural pearls, or the fact that I posted this information in the natural pearls section of this website. I do agree that the confusion of people mixing up natural pearls and cultured pearls is absolutely a problem, and the titles of these articles illustrates how long this has been an issue. These advertisements were not published by our company but by the small retail stores independently for their own publicity decades ago. I posted them because I thought people would appreciate period articles to go along with the history of the piece, not to deliberately confuse you or anyone else. We take great care in never marketing or selling our pearls as natural and guarantee that this tiara is.

 

[pearlescence]

part of the problem is in the 'lay' use of the word natural to mean real or organic as opposed to imitation or man-made. Just as cultured means farmed (but cultured sounds better...like faux for FAKE).

 

[pattye]

Josh,

Could you please also add a photo and details about the

26x39mm natural South Sea pearl pendant

quite amazing on its own!

 

[JBazar]

Thanks pattye, I would love too. The history of the pearl is so rich and intriguing, i think that you will truly enjoy! Below is a link to the history of the pearl on our website. For those critics please understand that I did not write the article on the website there for I have not combed through for any technicalities. The pearl on the link is also Natural. The image on our site does the pearl no justice. I will re-photograph it at some point today and post the pictures in this thread when I have a bit more time.

http://www.pearls.com/IMPERIAL_PEARL.asp

 

[Orient]

Thanks JBazar. Good to clear that up. Those advertisements really confuse the issue & deflect the items true value. Would be interesting to test the pearls and see their structures if one could. Guess that isn't really possible in their mounted state. Agree that the pendant is also very intriguing as a piece. Thanks for sharing them.

 

[JBazar]

The images i promised, sorry for the delay. This time of year can get a bit chaotic.

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[JBazar]

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[pattye]

Oh MY!! Come to Momma------------thank you, Josh!! That last shot really shows the size, is that the back side of the pearl? The leaves are just right for the pearl. How is the cap attached? What a treasure!!

Now I need to stop ogling and decorate the tree-----------

 

[KAC]

That last shot really shows the size

No kidding, it could be used as a weapon! Albeit a very very expensive weapon

 

[lisa c]

Wow! Is it an artifact of the photography (which is lovely, btw) or is there water in that pearl? I love that effect.