Gem-quality natural pearls are rarely found today. However, you can still find them in estate sales, auctions and in your grandmother’s jewelry box. Natural pearl lovers will buy the moderately matched, smaller natural pearls to have a piece of history.
The value of natural pearls
The value of natural pearls has varied widely over the last hundred years. A pearl necklace that Cartier sold during the Depression for $1 million fetched only $157,000 in a 1957 auction. When actor Richard Burton bought the famed La Peregrina pearl for actress Elizabeth Taylor in 1969, he paid just $37,000. The enormous drop pearl had been in possession of European royalty for hundreds of years before it ended up in Liz’s jewelry box.
Cultured pearls made a comeback in fashion during the 1970s and 1980s, and the prices of natural pearls went up right along with them. Wealthy people were willing to pay more for natural pearls for their history and mystique.
Today, the most expensive pearls are large natural pearls. Fine quality pearls between 12 mm and 15 mm can fetch between $50,000 and $125,000, according to the Gemological Institute of America. Since they are virtually never found in nature, jewelers will buy old strands of these pearls, remove the best gems and make a new necklace with them. Matched natural pearls are very rare. Any one natural pearl in a matched set fetches 40 to 60 percent more than a cultured pearl of comparative quality.
Natural pearls making a comeback
Some of history’s well-known pearl beds have shown signs of growth. Bahrain, for example, in the Persian Gulf, had a huge pearl industry until the oil boom of the mid 20 th century. With its oil reserves shrinking, the country has begun renewing its pearl industry. Golden baroque natural pearls are currently being harvested.
The United States freshwater pearl industry is adding to the world’s natural pearl market. About 9 to 11 pounds of natural pearls are discovered for every 2,000 tons of freshwater mussel shells harvested to be used as nuclei in the cultured pearl market. The pearls are usually small, but a Tennessee fishery found a 16 mm white cultured pearl in recent years.
Future of the natural pearl market
Most people wanting natural pearls work with resourceful jewelers. They will meet with producers directly, contact private estates and comb auction catalogues. Natural pearls are not judged by cultured pearl standards. They generally will not be as large as today’s cultured pearls. Their history not only makes up for their smallness, but also adds to their allure, which why natural pearl lovers will go to great lengths to find them.
Over the last 20 years, wealthy Arabs have been the biggest market for natural pearls, and it’s no wonder. The Persian Gulf and pearls have been tied together for thousands of years. Today, Indian pearl lovers are a big market. Like the Arabs, Indians have valued pearls for thousands of years. They appreciate and admire the rare beauty of a natural pearl.
Author: Kevin Canning
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