List of Pearls/Pearl Jewelry/Pearl Settings that Performed Exceptionally Well at Public Auctions Arranged in Chronological Order of their Sale

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In this webpage we have published an important table listing famous pearls/pearl jewelry/pearl settings that performed exceptionally well at public auctions, arranged in chronological order of their sale, begining with the Mancini drop-shaped pearl ear-pendants that sold at Christie's New York in October 1979 and ending with the Seven-Strand Natural Pearl and Diamond Necklace, that sold for a staggering US$ 9,081,662 at Christie's Geneva in November 2013.

Important information that could be derived from this table are also given below the table.

S/N	Name of pearl/pearl jewelry	Probable period of origin	weight/no. of rows/no of pearls etc.	Date of auction	Price realized
1	Mancini pearls -drop shape pearl pendants	1500-1600	400 grains	Christie's New York Oct.1979	USD 253,000
2	Mona Bismarck 2-strand pearl necklace	1920-1930	Double-strand of 70 pearls	Sotheby's Geneva May 1986	USD 410,000
3	Empress Eugenie tiara	1853	212 pearls, 2,520 grains	Sold to Friends of Louvre Society Nov 1992 by privately negotiated sale	USD 650,000
4	Nina Dyer black pearl necklace	1950s	Three-strand/151 natural black pearls	Christie's Geneva Nov 1997	USD 913,320
5	Barbara Hutton pearl necklace	1600-1666	Single-Strand/44 natural pearls/ total weight of 1,816.68 grains	Christie's Geneva, May 1992 Christie's Geneva, Nov 1999	USD 580,000 USD 1,470,000
6	Double-strand natural pearl necklace by Cartier	Historical provenance not revealed	Two-strand necklace with 88 natural pearls	Christie's Geneva, Nov 2004	USD 3,100,000
7	La Regente	1811	302.68 grains	Christie's Geneva,Nov 2005	USD 2,483,968
8	Princess Margaret's Five-row Art Deco Pearl and Diamond Necklace	1948	Five-Strand Necklace, Made up of 319 natural pearls	Christie's London, June 2006	USD 509,312
9	Gulf pearl parure designed by Harry Winston	1932-1978	Consisting of a 4-rowed pearl and diamond necklace; 3-rowed pearl and diamond bracelet; a pair of pearl and diamond ear-pendants and a pearl and diamond cluster ring	Christie's Geneva Nov 2006	USD 4,100,000
10	Baroda pearl necklace	1856-1870	Double-strand with 68 natural pearls from the original 7-strand necklace	Christie's New York April 2007	USD 7,096,000
11	Duchess of Windsor pearl necklace	1910-1936	Single-strand of 28 natural pearls. Total weight 1266.33 grains	Sotheby's Geneva April 1987 Sotheby's New York Dec 2007	USD 733,333 USD 3,625,000
12	Yellow to Pinkish Orange Near-Spherical Nacreous Pearl		Second largest freshwater pearl. 60.36-carats/ 241.44-grains	Christie's Dubai, April 2008	USD 713,000,
13	Umm Kulthum pearl necklace	1880	nine-strand pearl necklace with 1,888 pearls	Christie's Dubai, April 2008	USD 1,390,000
14	A superb four-row natural pearl and diamond necklace	19th-century	Made up of 219 natural saltwater pearls	Christie's Dubai, April 2008	USD 1,743,400
15	Pearl necklace from an unidentified notable collection	Historical provenance not revealed	Single-strand necklace with 41 natural pearls	Sotheby's Geneva, Nov 2008	USD 1,321,110
16	Multi-strand pearl and diamond festoon necklace of unknown provenance	Historical provenance not revealed	Nine-strand pearl and diamond festoon necklace. Length 645mm to 1060mm	Sotheby's Geneva, Nov 2008	USD 946,610
17	Pearl Carpet of Baroda	1860	Encrusted with 1.5-2.0 million natural seed pearls. Other encrusted jewels include diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires	Sotheby's Arts of the Islamic World Auction, Doha, Qatar, March 2009	USD 5,500,000
18	Emperor, Yongzheng's (Yinzhen) Ceremonial Eastern Pearl Court Necklace	1722-1735	Single-Strand necklace, made up of 108 freshwater eastern pearls	Sotheby's Hong Kong, April 8, 2010	USD 8,700,000
19	La Peregrina Pearl and Necklace designed by Cartier	1513	Double-Strand pearl necklace, also incorporating rubies and diamonds. Weight of La Peregrina alone 203.84 grains	Sotheby's London 1969 Christie's New York Dec 2011	USD 37,000 USD 11,000,000
20	Five-strand Natural Pearl Necklace		Made up of 349 saltwater natural pearls. range - 4.10-11.35 mm	Christie's New York, April 2012	USD 1,672,900
21	Cowdray Pearl Necklace		Single row of 38 graduated natural grey pearls	Christie's London, June 2012	USD 3,353,700
22	Double-strand Natural Pearl Necklace by Cartier		Made up of 120 pearls. Range - 6.50-12.25 mm	Christie's New York, Oct. 2012	USD 3,660,000
23	Three-strand Natural Pearl Necklace		Made up of 180 natural pearls ranging in size from 4.95-11.05 mm	Christie's New York, April 2013	USD 1,131,750
24	Very Fine Natural Pearl and Diamond Necklace by Chaumet		Three-Strand graduated natural pearl necklace. Pearls range in size 4.6-9.9 mm	Sotheby's Geneva, May 2013	USD 1,198,277
25	Gina Lollobrigida's natural, drop-shaped pearl and diamond ear-pendants	Originally from the collection of House of Habsburg	Dimensions of the pearls 15.6x12.1x24.9 mm 15.9x13.8x23.3 mm	Sotheby's Geneva, May 2013	USD 2,391,322
26	A Single-row Natural Pearl, Emerald and Diamond Necklace		Made up of 23 slightly graduated natural pearls. Range - 10.4-13.7 mm	Christie's Geneva, May 2013	USD 8,460,675
27	Seven-strand Natural Pearl and Diamond Necklace	Probably 19th or early 20th Century	614 natural saltwater pearls	Christie's Geneva, Nov 2013	USD 9,081,662

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Information that can be derived from the above table

1) The La Peregrina Pearl and double-strand pearl necklace by Cartier from Elizabeth Taylor's jewelry collection that sold for US$ 11,000,000 at Christie's New York in December 2011, is the most expensive piece of natural pearl jewelry and natural pearl necklace in the world as well as the most expensive double-strand pearl necklace in the world.

2) The Seven-Strand Natural Pearl and Diamond Necklace, the subject of this webpage, is the second most expensive natural pearl necklace in the world, selling for US$ 9,081,662 at Christie's Geneva in November 2013. This necklace is also the most expensive multistrand natural pearl necklace in the world.

3) Emperor, Yongzheng's (Yinzhen) Single-Strand Ceremonial Eastern Pearl Court Necklace, made up of 108 freshwater eastern pearls that sold for US$ 8,700,000 at Sotheby's Hong Kong, in April 2010 is the 3rd most expensive natural pearl necklace in the world. It is also the most expensive natural freshwater pearl necklace in the world and also the most expensive single-strand natural pearl necklace in the world.

4) A Single-Strand Natural Pearl, Emerald and Diamond Necklace of unknown provenance, made up of 23 slightly graduated natural pearls, with a range in size of 10.4-13.7 mm that sold for US$ 8,460,675 at Christie's Geneva, in May 2013 is the 4th most expensive natural pearl necklace in the world. It is also the 2nd most expensive single-strand natural pearl necklace in the world, and the most expensive single-strand saltwater natural pearl necklace in the world.

5) The Double-Strand Baroda Pearl Necklace that sold for US$ 7,096,000 at Christie's New York in April 2007, is the 5th most expensive natural pearl necklace in the world, and the 2nd most expensive double-strand natural pearl necklace in the world.

6) Double-strand Natural Pearl Necklace by Cartier, made up of 120 pearls with range in size of 6.50-12.25 mm that sold for USD 3,660,000 at Christie's New York in October 2012, is the 6th most expensive natural pearl necklace in the world, and the 3rd most expensive double-strand natural pearl necklace in the world.

7) Single-Strand Duchess of Windsor Natural Pearl Necklace made of 28 natural pearls that sold for US$ 3,625,000 at Sotheby's New York in Dec 2007, is the 7th most expensive pearl necklace in the world. It is the 3rd most expensive single-strand natural pearl necklace in the world and the 2nd most expensive single-strand natural saltwater pearl necklace in the world.

8) The Single-Strand Cowdray Pearl Necklace made up of 38 graduated natural grey pearls that sold for US$ 3,353,700 is the 8th most expensive pearl necklace in the world; the 4th most expensive single-strand natural pearl necklace in the world; and the most expensive natural grey pearl necklace in the world.

9) Double-strand natural pearl necklace by Cartier of unknown historical provenance made up of 88 natural pearls that sold for US$ 3,100,000 at Christie's Geneva in November 2004, is the 9th most expensive pearl necklace in the world and the 4th most expensive double-strand natural pearl necklace in the world.

10) The most expensive natural pearl parure in the world is the Gulf pearl parure designed by Harry Winston that sold for US$ 4,100,000 at Christie's Geneva in Nov 2006.

11) The most expensive special natural pearl setting in the world is the Pearl Carpet of Baroda made up of 1.5-2.0 million natural seed pearls that sold for US$ 5,500,000 at Sotheby's Arts of the Islamic World Auction, Doha, Qatar, in March 2009.

12) The most expensive natural, drop-shaped pearl and diamond ear-pendants that once belonged to popular Hollywood actress Gina Lollobrigida, and sold for US$ 2,391,322 at Sotheby's Geneva, May 2013, is the most expensive drop-shaped pearl and diamond ear-pendants in the world.

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