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Lot Essay
Black pearls count amongst the rarest of natural gems.
The oyster producing most of the black pearls found off the Mexican coast is called Pinctada Margaritifera. The degree of ‘blackness’ is due in part, to the colour of the oyster shell as well as the black organic substance within. Each pearl is unique, and they do not require cutting nor polishing to produce their luster.
Black pearls became particularly fashionable in the second half of the 19th century, largely due to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, who developed a taste for these exotic gems and brought them into vogue. In the historic Christie’s auction of her jewelry in 1872, a black pearl necklace sold for £ 4,000, an unprecedented sum at the time.
One rarely encounters a black and grey pearl necklace, with very few of high quality having been offered for sale at auction in the past fifty years.
Christie’s is pleased to offer gem connoisseurs and collectors the opportunity to acquire this unique and superb coloured pearl necklace (lot 288) composed of 114 beautifully shaped and homogenous saltwater pearls.
The oyster producing most of the black pearls found off the Mexican coast is called Pinctada Margaritifera. The degree of ‘blackness’ is due in part, to the colour of the oyster shell as well as the black organic substance within. Each pearl is unique, and they do not require cutting nor polishing to produce their luster.
Black pearls became particularly fashionable in the second half of the 19th century, largely due to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, who developed a taste for these exotic gems and brought them into vogue. In the historic Christie’s auction of her jewelry in 1872, a black pearl necklace sold for £ 4,000, an unprecedented sum at the time.
One rarely encounters a black and grey pearl necklace, with very few of high quality having been offered for sale at auction in the past fifty years.
Christie’s is pleased to offer gem connoisseurs and collectors the opportunity to acquire this unique and superb coloured pearl necklace (lot 288) composed of 114 beautifully shaped and homogenous saltwater pearls.