La Peregrina Pearl

La Peregrina Pearl (the pilgrim), a pear shaped drop weighing 203.84 grains, is among Elizabeth Taylor's Famous Jewelry Collection to be auction on the 13th and 14th of December 2011 at Christie's, New York, Rockefeller Center.

This extraordinary pearl pendant has a unique pink hue and was one of the famous jewels, that her late husband, Sir Richard Burton had given her.

The famous Baroda Pearls and the celebrated La Peregrina are the most important Natural Pearls in the world.

Elizabeth Taylor, was not only a wonderful actress but an amazing human being who was awarded the first Humanitarian Award for Aids Activism.

Ms Taylor was well known for her love of jewelry but what's not so well known about Dame Elizabeth Taylor, was her extraordinary level of knowledge about jewelry.

Over the years, Elizabeth Taylor amassed one of the world's most Famous Jewelry Collections. Ms Taylor often wore her own jewelry in Elizabeth Taylor movies.

Included in Elizabeth's line of jewels is the 33-carat Krupp Diamond ring, a diamond tiara, La PEREGRINA Pearl, a yellow heart-shaped diamond necklace, The Duchess of Windsor Diamond Brooch, a gift from Richard Burton, the staggering peachy pear 69.42-carat pear-shaped diamond, newly named the Taylor-Burton Diamond, a 29-carat diamond ring, and the Grand Duchess of Russia emeralds and - the Taj Mahl Diamond inscribed in Persian which hangs from a gold and ruby chain by Cartier.

Richard Burton once commented that he would have purchased the Taj Mahl itself for her, except that it was too expensive to transport.

In 1969, La Peregrina was put up for auction by Sotheby's, New York, and sold to a telephone bidder for 25,000 pounds sterling. Richard Burton, was the bidder, who bought the natural marine pearl as a Valentine's Day gift for his then wife, Elizabeth Taylor.

La Peregrina was delivered to Taylor and Richard Burton in their suite in Caesar's Palace, by Ward Landrigan, who then ran Sotheby's New York jewelry department.

Elizabeth Taylor has Written a Book about her Jewelry Collection which can be purchased here.

The Peregrina Pearl is one of the largest Natural Pearls in existence and like the Baroda Pearls of immense historical importance.

Believed to have been found around Panama, in the Caribbean by a slave diving for pearls who was granted his freedom when his owner saw the value of this pearl.

La Peregrina Pearl then became part of the Spanish Treasury. Along very time before Mikimoto Cultured Pearls ever came onto the scene, La Peregrina was worn by Mary Queen of Tudor on her Wedding day as a gift from her husband King Phillip II of Spain in 1554!

Some people say that the La Peregrina was acquired by Russian royalty in 1826. "La Peregrina" is often confused with "La Pelegrina Pearl" - Notice the substitution of the letter "L" in the middle of the word.

***La Peregrina Pearl is to be distinguished from La Pelegrina Pearl, an ovoid natural pearl of 28 carats that was given by Philip IV, to his daughter, Maria Theresa upon her marriage to Louis XIV of France. Pelegrina was later bought to Moscow by Princess Youssoupoff.

At the time of the sale of La Peregrina in New York in 1969, its identification was challenged by Spain's ex-Queen, Victoria Eugenia.

Internally, imperial Russia commissioned master-craftsman from all over Europe around this time period. The Russian ateliers and the priceless treasures produced are conserved within the Great Kremlin Palace.

The Peregrina Pearl can be seen in many paintings by the famous artist Velasquez of Phillip 1V’s wives. La Peregrina then travelled on to become the possession of Joseph Bonaparte, who sold it to the Marquis of Abercorn of England.

Elizabeth Taylor's Jewellery collection fetched a landslide breaking $115 million =£75 million victory at auction in New York on the 13th December 2011.

Ravishing La Peregrina, Natural Pearl was the centre of gravity. The necklace, on which La Peregrina Pearl gravitates fetched a world record price of $11,842,500 = £7.6 million.

Reference:

Newman, H., An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, Thames & Hudson, London, 1981.

More information about La Peregina Pearl can be found at Internet Stones.

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