One of the birthstones for June is the pearl. Not technically a gemstone of course, still this beautiful work of nature adorns many women, coming as it does in many shapes, sizes, colours and prices! Perhaps the most famous, certainly in terms of longevity, is La Peregrina, the wanderer pearl.
First discovered in the middle of the sixteenth century, it was the largest pearl ever found, at 55.95 carats (11.2g).
Found by a slave on the island of Santa Margarita in the Gulf of Panama, it was given to the Spanish governor, who gave it to King Phillip II of Spain. Phillip then presented the pearl to his future wife, Mary I, Queen of England. You can see the pearl, worn as a pendant to a brooch, in several portraits of her.
On her death in 1558 La Peregrina returned to Spain, to the Spanish Crown Jewels, where it remained until 1813, when it was effectively stolen by Joseph Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon, who had been placed on the Spanish throne with his aggressive little brother invaded the country in 1809. It was then that the pearl was given the name La Peregrina, meaning ‘the wanderer.’ When he died, he left the pearl to his nephew, the future Napoleon III of France. Despite taking France to new levels of international power through empire, modernising his country in terms of agriculture, transport, education and social reform, he ended his days as a refugee, here in Britain, after defeat by German Otto von Bismarck in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870.
Just three years later he died, after having sold the pearl to James Hamilton, Duke of Abercorn., who bought the pearl for his wife, Louisa. The pearl was very heavy and it fell out of its necklace’s setting on at least two occasions. The first time, the pearl got lost in a sofa in Windsor Castle; the second time, during a ball at Buckingham Palace. The Hamilton family owned the pearl until 1969 when they sold it at auction at Sotheby’s in London.
T
his is where the fame factor for this dazzling work of nature really kicks in, as the pearl was bought by Richard Burton for his wife, Elizabeth Taylor, as a Valentine’s present. La Peregrina was clearly still keen to wander however, as Elizabeth Taylor also lost it on one memorable occasion, only to find it in the mouth of one of her puppies.
“…inside his mouth was the most perfect pearl in the world. It was—thank God—not scratched.’ Thank goodness he didn’t swallow it!]
Ms Taylor chose to wear her fabulous pearl in the film Anne of a Thousand Days, starring her then husband. It was but a fleeting moment, and uncredited, and it’s slightly ironic that this Tudor pearl should appear in a Tudor story, yet worn by a courtesan and not a Queen.
Taylor commissioned Cartier to re-design the necklace, setting La Peregrina with pearls, diamonds, and rubies. This setting was inspired by, but is ultimately far more glitzy and glamorous than, the one that can be seen in the portraits of Mary I.
In December 2011 La Peregrina was sold at Christies in New York, as part of Elizabeth Taylor’s collection, auctioned after her death. It was sold mounted on the diamond Cartier necklace reached an astonishing $10.5 million, purchased by an unknown Asian buyer. We think this is really rather sad: this pearl has decorated the throats of beautiful women for almost 500 years, portraits of whom (on oils and celluloid) depict La Peregrina’s wanderings across the world, and now…now it’s hidden from sight.