A huge natural pearl pendant, 19th century

The shop was closed for lunch when I saw it in the window... I came back sooner than a seller who wanted it too :-)
When he saw me wearing it (I haunted then all the Paris antique jewellers shops!) he asked for the price I paid and was green of despite ;-)
Katbran, as I took Mazda from her retirement, I wear it again now :-). Thank you for your appreciation !
 
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kyratango, when you're candling the other strand perhaps you may try this one too and post a result. Not because I'm suspicious (well, maybe a little ;))... just curious.
 
Hi Dave, here are my pics (very hard to focus...) 20160114_141229~2.jpg20160114_141327~2.jpg20160114_141417~2.jpg20160114_141541~2.jpg

Thanks all for your comments and interest :-D
 
Wow , Wow and Wow ! This pearl is superb ! thank you kyratango for sharing it !

While waiting for Dave's post, I can't help but thinking that the appellation "soufflure de perle" does a disservice to this pearl.
Why not calling it a baroque pearl ? Is there an "official way" to categorize pearl as baroque or drop ? or is it just the appraiser decision ?
Personally, I like the "mini - pelegrina" name given by Caitlin and wonder if it would not do better justice to this pearl to be inthis category (once the suspicion of natural is confirmed) ? what do you all think ?
Best
Sophie
 
Thank you for the candled views. These contrasts are what I'd expect from natural pearls. Viewed from several axis, there's no visible geometry from a bead. Also, this pearl presents with typical contrasts which are eccentric, random and mottled. Moreover, the contrasts appear at different depths, meaning the pearl has likely burst from it's sac more than once during it's formation. That's a good thing, because each time this happens, a juvenile layer or aragonite forms on the outer surface.

You have an extraordinary pearl, kyratango.

And yes, Sophie. This is a large baroque drop.

La Peregrina originated from the Gulf of Panama in Central America. It's just a guess, but I'd suspect this one did as well and it's reasonable to consider it may be older than 19th century.

I highly recommend this pearl be sent to the lab for certification. Not because of doubt, but for confirmation and insurable valuation. It's possible they'd waive the cost of the examination in trade for retaining the record on file.
 
Very insightful Dave !
Kyratango,
I hope you'd consider sending the pearl to a lab. Now, I (we) want to know more. Wouldn't it be great if the lab could also give an estimate of the age of the pearl like they did for the Venezuelan pearls ?
Maybe it did not start as a hatpin after all :-)
and by the way, Mazda seems to be more of less the same size / weight than the Pelegrina (11 gr), so not so mini :-)
Elizabeth-Taylor-and-La-Peregrina.jpg
Reading this thread made my day today !
Merci !
Sophie
 
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