The Beauty of Pearls

Annabel Zarandi, Jewellery & Watch Specialist at Fellows Auctioneers, has been discussing the beauty of pearls and how they complement jewellery. For centuries pearls have been used to adorn items of jewellery. They are the earliest and most documented jewel in history; in the, the word Greek mythology pearls were the tears shed by the Goddess of love of Aphrodite. Pearls were also synonymous to her Roman counterpart, Venus. They came to represent her three virtues, fertility, beauty and purity and have continued to reflect these elements in lore. Portraits of Elizabeth I show her adorned in pearls, a sign of her purity. A naturally occurring phenomenon, they are created when nacre is secreted by pearl producing molluscs such as saltwater oysters and freshwater mussels. Their unique lustre is caused by a rare combination of diffraction and interference of white light. Annabel Zarandi Due to the difficulty in sourcing them, pearls were historically limited for the wealthy to own. Jewellery made up of well-matched and good quality naturally occurring pearls was, and still is incredibly difficult to come source, this factor is reflected in the prices these can achieve at auction. In the 1880’s, Mikimoto successfully pioneered the process in creating cultured pearls, making them more accessible to a wider audience. By the time the first Mikimoto shop opened in London in 1913, the flapper movement was in full swing and wearing multiple rows pearls became typical of this fashion, a trend which Coco Chanel forged as her own during the 1930’s. We have previously auctioned beautiful pieces of jewellery set with natural pearls, with this particular ring being an exquisite example of art deco jewellery, and making up one of our hammer highlights of 2018. We are also incredibly excited to be offering another art deco ring set with a natural pearl in our upcoming 12^th September Fine Jewellery auction. The beautiful natural pearl punctuates this diamond plaque, a design very typical of its time. We are also delighted to be able to offer this conch pearl into our 6^th September gemstone auction. A conch pearl is derived from a gastropod mollusc, notably from the Queen conch snail.  With their slightly irregular shape, unique flame like pattern and pink hue, these are very rare. Lot 98 is particularly interesting (pictured below), not only because is sizeable, but the subtle pink hue makes is very appealing.