List of pearls by size

Pearls are a valuable gemstone and come in a number of sizes. This is a list of the biggest pearls.

Juan Pantoja de la Cruz, Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain wearing the La Peregrina pearl (c. 1606)

Context

A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as a conulariid. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate (mainly aragonite or a mixture of aragonite and calcite)[1] in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes, known as baroque pearl can occur.

The finest quality of natural pearls have been highly valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries. Because of this, pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, admirable and valuable. The most valuable pearls occur spontaneously in the wild, but are extremely rare. These wild pearls are referred to as natural pearls. Cultured or farmed pearls from pearl oysters and freshwater mussels make up the majority of those currently sold. Whether wild or cultured, gem-quality pearls are almost always nacreous and iridescent, like the interior of the shell that produces them. However, almost all species of shelled mollusks are capable of producing pearls (technically "calcareous concretions") of lesser shine or less spherical shape.

There is a lot of myth and legend surrounding some of these pearls. The Pearl of Lao Tzu for a long time thought to be the largest Pearl had its history fabricated by a conman by the name of Victor Barbish.[2] Other pearls like the Centaur Pearl, most likely the largest gem pearl at 856.58 carats (171.316 g), have just recently emerged from private collections.[3]

List
Name Origin Date Color Carat Weight Height Length Width Notes Refs
Centaur Pearl 2000 White [lower-alpha 1] 856.58 carats (171.316 g) 114.3 mm (4.50 in) 48.51 mm (1.910 in) [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 3] [3]
Burma Pearl 2000 White 845 carats (169.0 g) [3]
Abalone pearl  United States May 31, 2010 White 718.50 carats (143.700 g) 14 cm (5.5 in) 8 cm (3.1 in) 4 cm (1.6 in) [lower-alpha 4] [4]
Pearl of Asia  Oman 1628 White 605 carats (121.0 g) [lower-alpha 5] [5]
Arco Valley Pearl White [lower-alpha 6] 575 carats (115.0 g) 79 mm (3.1 in) 41 mm (1.6 in) 34 mm (1.3 in) [lower-alpha 7] [6]
Hope Pearl White [lower-alpha 8] 450 carats (90 g) [lower-alpha 9] 50.8 mm (2.00 in) 30.32 to 36.38 mm (1.194 to 1.432 in) [lower-alpha 10] [lower-alpha 11] [7]
La Peregrina pearl  Panama 1513 [lower-alpha 12] White 50.56 carats (10.112 g) [lower-alpha 13] [lower-alpha 14] 17.35 mm (0.683 in) 17.90 mm (0.705 in) 5.50 mm (0.217 in) [lower-alpha 15] [9] [10]
Giga Pearl  Philippines White [lower-alpha 16] 27.65 kg (61.0 lb) [lower-alpha 17] [11]
Pearl of Lao Tzu  Philippines 1934 White 127,574 pearl grains 6.4 kg (14 lb) 24 cm (9.4 in) 24 cm (9.4 in) 24 cm (9.4 in) [lower-alpha 18] [2]
Pearl of Puerto  Philippines 1996 White 34 kg (75 lb) 67 cm (26 in) 30 cm (12 in) [12]
Sleeping Lion  China 1765 White 119 grams (4.2 oz) 6.858 cm (2.700 in) [lower-alpha 19] [13]

See also

Notes
  1. Mauve, lavender, gray and bronze overtones with intense iridescence
  2. Circumference is 152.4 mm (6.00 in) at its widest
  3. Discovered in an antique sculpture of a centaur
  4. Found by Dat Vi Truong in Mendocino, California, USA
  5. Shah Jahan gave it to his wife Mumtaz Mahal of Taj Mahal fame. Later Persian Nadir Shah looted it and gave to Manchu emperor of China Ch'ien Lung and was buried with him. During Boxer Rebellion it was looted and in 1918 was sold to a French Father Souvay. Stolen in 1944 from Paris but later recovered. [5]
  6. Pink and yellow overtones
  7. Mongolian emperor Khubilai Khan reportedly gave it to Marco Polo
  8. Grading from a dark bronze to white
  9. 1800 grains
  10. Circumfrance ranges from 95.25 mm (3.750 in) to 114.3 mm (4.50 in)
  11. Owned by collector Henry Philip Hope
  12. Sources claim a slave discovered the pearl but at the time no slaves were in the region
  13. 202.24 grains
  14. Other sources list it as 55.95 carats (11.190 g) 223.8 grains
  15. Elizabeth Taylor set the pearl in a necklace that she sold for $8.8 million in 2011 (US$ 10,001,500 in 2020).[8]
  16. White and cream-coloured
  17. Owned by a Mississauga, Ontario, man Abraham Reyes's family since 1959
  18. It is not considered a gemstone pearl, but is instead known as a "clam pearl" or "Tridacna pearl" from a giant clam
  19. Is the world’s largest freshwater pearl and in 2018 sold for $374,000 at auction in the Hague, Netherlands

References

Citations
  1. Farn 2013, p. 2.
  2. LaPointe 2018.
  3. Matlins 2001, p. 17.
  4. Guinness World Records 2019.
  5. LIFE 1945, pp. 134-136.
  6. Thomas 2009, p. 26.
  7. Matlins 2001, pp. 16-17.
  8. BBC News 2011.
  9. Galante 2011.
  10. Christie's 2011.
  11. Gourley 2019.
  12. Domonoske 2016.
  13. Daley 2018.

Bibliography
  • BBC News (December 14, 2011). "Elizabeth Taylor jewellery auction fetches $116m". BBC News. Retrieved August 29, 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Christie's (December 13, 2011). "SALE 2623: The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor: The Legendary Jewels, Evening Sale (I)". Christie's. Retrieved August 29, 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Daley, Jason (June 12, 2018). "The Odyssey of the World's Largest Freshwater Pearl". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved August 29, 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Domonoske, Camila (August 24, 2016). "Filipino Fisherman Reveals 75-Pound Pearl He Kept Hidden For A Decade". NPR. Retrieved August 27, 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Farn, Alexander E. (2013). Pearls: Natural, Cultured and Imitation. Elsevier. ISBN 9781483162737.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) - Total pages: 160
  • Galante, Meredith (December 19, 2011). "A Funny Story About The Elizabeth Taylor Pearl That Set A World Record Last Week". Business Insider. Retrieved August 29, 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Gourley, Dayna (March 28, 2019). "Mississauga, Ont., man's been hiding what could be the world's largest pearl — now he wants to show it off". CBC News. Retrieved August 28, 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Guinness World Records (2019). "Largest abalone pearl". Guinness World Records. Retrieved August 27, 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • LIFE (December 17, 1945). "French Police Get Back Biggest Pearl". LIFE Magazine. Time Inc. p. 136. ISSN 0024-3019. Retrieved August 29, 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Matlins, Antoinette L. (2001). The Pearl Book: The Definitive Buying Guide - How to Select, Buy, Care for and Enjoy Pearls. Gemstone Press. ISBN 9780943763354.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) - Total pages: 198
  • LaPointe, Michael (June 1, 2018). "The world's largest pearl: fantastical tale of an 80-year hoax and the men and women who lost millions to its dubious charms". South China Morning Post. Retrieved August 29, 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Thomas, Alex (2009). The Pearl City. Dorrance Publishing. ISBN 9781434949028.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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