Wednesday, December 9, 2009

'Bonhams to auction five-pound 'Princess' pearl'


Jewelry Auctions
'Bonhams to auction five-pound 'Princess' pearl';

Bonhams to auction five-pound 'Princess' pearl

November 25, 2009

The "Palawan Princess," a five-pound, 11,339-carat blister pearl found off the coast of the Philippines, valued at between $300,000 and $400,000 will be for sale at Bonhams and Butterfields' Dec. 6 auction.


Los Angeles--Bonhams and Butterfields will auction off what is believed to be the world's second-largest documented pearl, a five-pound gem found off the coast of the Philippines that has been dubbed the "Palawan Princess."The natural non-nacreous pearl was found in saltwater near the Philippines' Palawan island and "bears an uncanny resemblance to a human brain," the auction house said.

Both rare and immense, the gem is thought to be surpassed in size only by the 14-pound "Pearl of Allah," an approximately 14-pound, 31,893.5-carat pearl that, like the Palawan Princess, was the product of the giant clam shell Tridacna gigas and was also found off the coastal waters of the Philippines.The approximately 11,339-carat Palawan Princess is a blister pearl measuring six inches in diameter and accompanied by the lower half of its original giant clam shell, which shows the point of attachment where the pearl formed.

The pearl, which will be on the auction block at Bonhams and Butterfields' Dec. 6 holiday auction of Natural History in Los Angeles, is valued at $300,000 and $400,000. "This is an once-in-a-lifetime look at one of nature's most unique treasures," said Mitch Jacubovic, director of EGL USA, one of the labs that was asked to examine the pearl, in a media release. "A pearl this size is not only one of the largest ones we've ever seen, it is among the largest pearls ever seen anywhere

No comments: