Natural Pearl Necklace Sells for World Auction Record $5.1 Million

Jacques

Pearly pearl
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Jul 10, 2009
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Check out this natural necklace
http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthony...e-sells-for-world-auction-record-5-1-million/

Natural Pearl Necklace Sells for World Auction Record $5.1 Million
 
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Natural colored and natural pearl... two very different things.

ForbesLife said:
The latest example of this trend was on display at Tuesday’s Christie’s New York Magnificent Jewels Sale where a four-strand natural colored pearl necklace sold for nearly $5.1 million, setting a world auction record for a natural colored pearl necklace.

The necklace comprises four strands of 81, 76, 69 and 63 natural gray and brown pearls, measuring approximately 12.65 to 4.90 mm. The Swiss Gemmological Institute report confirms the authenticity of these saltwater natural pearls that, according to the report, have no indications of artificial color modification.
 
It is a natural pearl necklace. I think the dark color is the big deal. :)
 
Yes, natural colored! Regardless, it's still pretty nice, wouldn't you say? :)
 
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So they are both natural (not cultured) pearls and natural color? Tahitians?
 
Afraid not, the title of the article is misleading and tripped me up as well. I think they are naturally colored cultured pearls. They are talking about (quote) "having no indications of artificial color modification" in the article.
 
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Sorry, however, I do not like multi-colour strands, therefore, I would not have considered buying the necklace even if I had that kind of money to spare!

DK :D
 
What, precisely, are they? Bead-nucleated saltwater cultured pearls with natural, non-enhanced color?
 
How it read to me was natural color, natural pearls. The price seemed far too high for cultured pearls, even with provenance. A large high quality diamond in the clasp could account for some of the high price.

No comments about the article are visible, or we might have gotten clarification.
 
I've thought about this strand for a few hours, so I put it to a differential diagnosis.

On the merit side, 4.9mm Tahitian pearls are generally too small for bead culture. On the other hand, it's not unlikely either. To that end, a half point is scored to each natural and cultured origin.

A large diamond of several carats accents the piece, hence adds substantial value but does nothing to support natural origin of the pearls.

There is no evidence of color enhancement, but no point is scored because the lack of post harvest treatments are not unique to origin.

In the absence of other information, this is where the merits end.

On the demerit side. Other than the stated article, I could not find a single link, image or article describing this strand nor it's supporting documentation. I'm sure there's something somewhere, but definitely not widely known nor available for review.

Fine strands of natural pearls require an enormous pool for selection criteria. Two hundred and eighty nine pearls matched to a quadruple graduation would in all likelihood come from a pool of naturals greater than one hundred times that volume. To suggest there's a harvest of natural pearls in excess of twenty five thousand pieces multiplied by the 1:10000 average likelihood of even finding a natural seems like a stretch. That is approximately 250,000,000 oysters folks! A mathematical improbability, no less a brutal slaughter of Maoist proportions for a single vanity piece. Although I'm not wholly aware of Tahitian laws, I'm inclined to think they'd still need to be inspected and certified before export. Even if they were amassed from traditional harvests over decades, they'd still need to be brokered and graded by someone.

Think about it for a moment. Would anyone accumulate $5.1M worth of pearls, yet not lend their name to it?

Even small commercial operations, Cortez, Kasumi et al require multiple years of production to manufacture a single strand. My collection consists of several thousand pieces, but I'm hard pressed to match pairs, no less entire strands.

Incidental spontaneous pearls found in farm reared inventories cannot be deemed natural. While some may be, no one would suggest others could not be formed by stresses from harvesting, relaying, handling etc. It makes no sense to destroy a perfectly good graft candidate in the one in the ten thousand chance of finding a natural pearl.

The Swiss Gem Lab is reputable for the most part when it comes to other gems. However a drilled pearl is a destroyed pearl in scientific terms, hence cannot with one hundred percent certainty determine the origin of a pearl.

In this analysis, demerits far outweigh merits.

My heart of hearts tells me, this is a mixed strand at best, consisted of few (if any) naturals, some keshi and largely non bead grafted cultured pearls.
 
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Dave, It's a most curious strand, with many questions unanswered and photographed to make the pearls appear round. If the pearls near the clasp are almost 5mm, then imagine the size of the diamonds, and the karat weight.

Soooo~what happens if the new owner has the pearls checked by GIA and they are mostly "ordinary" cultured pearls????
 
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Dave, It's a most curious strand, with many questions unanswered and photographed to make the pearls appear round. If the pearls near the clasp are almost 5mm, then imagine the size of the diamonds, and the karat weight.

Soooo~what happens if the new owner has the pearls checked by GIA and they are mostly "ordinary" cultured pearls????

I'd hate to think Christie's operates under the premise of caveat emptor. Then again, the article does not address the specificity of natural origin insomuch as natural color. A crafty approach to value added returns.

They appear slightly off round to me, but not baroque.

At the hammer price of $5.1M, I would insist on name of the harvesters, the harvest location, brokerage and licensing requirements of that country as well as certification of the pearls before being drilled, but hey... that's just me.
 
I saw the post on Facebook, read the article, and came right over. I was also curious as to whether they were "natural pearls" or cultured "natural colored pearls." For $5 million, it they can't just be cultured, can they?
 
And yet....how can they have found so many matched naturals? Dave's analysis is compelling.
 
Not much other info to be found anywhere; per RAPAPORT:

Natural pearls were the stars of the day with a few of these rarities on offer, all of which sold for very strong prices, including a four-strand natural colored pearl necklace. An Asian private paid a hefty $5,093,000 for the treasure setting a world auction record price for a natural colored pearl necklace.
 
Daphne Lingon, Senior Specialist, Jewellery discusses a magnificent and rare natural colored pearl and diamond necklace.

Although she cites the Nina Dyre and Cowdray strands by name, the "four strand" piece is "unparalleled". A clever play on words.

Nary a word of origin, species or source.

The diamond is GIA certified, yet not the pearls. Seeing how it's been in GIA hands, why not include a second opinion?

I definitely want to scrutinize the lab report, examine the radio graphic views, peruse the associated appendix and witness the disclosure of the source before making a final assertion, but until then I'll remain highly skeptical of the authenticity of this strand as natural in origin.
 
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