La Peregrina - The Legendary Pearl

By Megan Reynolds, AJP (GIA)

This week we will continue our tribute to the Crown Jewels of Hollywood with the tale of La Peregrina, The Legendary Pearl. La Peregrina is a pear shaped-pearl weighing 203.84 grains. An African slave on the isle of Santa Margarita earned his freedom when he discovered the pearl in the mid 16^th century. At the time of its discovery La Peregrina was the largest pearl ever found and weighed 223.8 grains, or around 55.95 carats, it was drilled in 1913 to more securely keep it in its setting, reducing it to its current size. To this day La Peregrina is one of the largest perfectly symmetrical pear-shaped pearls in the world.

After its discovery, the pearl was carried to Spain and given to Philip II who in turn gave it to his English bride Mary I. She loved the pearl so much that she wore it for several of her portraits, including the one below. One thing though, with all of those jewels, etc. don’t you think she could have looked a little happier?

After her death in 1558, the pearl was returned to Spain and became a part of the crown jewels where it remained for the next 250 years. It was a favorite piece for Spanish Queens including Margaret of Austria, the wife of Philip III, and both wives of Philip IV who can be seen wearing the famous pearl in portraits by Diego Velazquez.

1808 marked the end of the pearl’s Spanish heritage when Joseph Bonaparte became king of Spain where he ruled for five years. He was then forced to leave the kingdom when he was defeated at the battle of Vitoria. Of course he took some of the crown jewels with him, including La Peregrina. It was during this period of time that La Peregrina earned its name, which means, the wanderer.

The pearl was handed down through the Bonaparte family until it was sold to James Hamilton, Duke of Abercorn who bought it for his wife Louisa. Now, La Peregrina is a very heavy pearl, so heavy in fact, that it fell out of its setting, at least two times! Luckily it was found both times, once in a sofa at Windsor Castle, and the second time, on a woman’s train as she was walking into dinner.

In 1969 the pearl was sold again, this time to Richard Burton for the relatively small amount, for him, of $37,000. He gave the pearl to Elizabeth Taylor who, true to the pearl’s history, immediately lost it. She tells the story in her book Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry. She and Burton were staying at a hotel and she was walking around her suite when she noticed that the pearl was missing. She very carefully retraced her steps, first around the bedroom, then the living room. She then stopped to pet one of her puppies when she noticed that it was chewing on a bone. Now, she knew that no one gave bones to the puppies, and at that point I would have had a heart attack because we all know what it was in that dog’s mouth. Yes, it was La Peregrina, and thankfully there was not a single scratch on it. Elizabeth Taylor was a very lucky woman indeed. And a smart one as she immediately had the pearl re-set into the more elaborate, and more importantly, more secure setting that we know today.

Photo: Christie's Images LTD

The necklace is expected to sell for between $2 and $3 million dollars when it comes to auction in December. Not a bad price for a piece that Elizabeth Taylor herself once said was “the most perfect pearl in the world”. Perfect indeed.