€3,000 - €5,000
A VICTORIAN PEARL, ENAMEL AND DIAMOND DEVANT-DE-CORSAGE BROOCH, CIRCA 1850 The openwork quatrefoil frame, applied with blue enamel, centring a pearl of cream tint within an old-cut diamond surround, to scrolled foliate motifs set with old-mine and old-cut diamonds, suspending a drop-shaped pendant of similar design, set with an old pear-shaped diamond within cut-down collet mount and a pearl, with rose-cut diamond and fancy-shaped enamel link chain connectors, mounted in silver and gold, diamonds approximately 6.50cts total, length 8.7cm The three pearls were verbally tested at GCS laboratory in London, in March 2025 and were confirmed to be natural, saltwater. The word pearl has long stood for something rare, beautiful, and valuable. For centuries, royalty prized natural pearls as symbols of purity and power. They form inside oysters or mussels, but how exactly they start growing remains something of a mystery. Truly natural pearls, those formed without any human involvement, are extremely rare, with most found being tiny, often smaller than a grain. Today, nearly all pearls on the market are cultured. This means they’re still real pearls, grown inside oysters, but with human help to start the process. Cultured pearls became widespread in the early 20th century, thanks to Japanese innovations in oyster farming.
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