With their lustrous and unique beauty, pearls are truly priceless – but these next stunning jewelry pieces are the exception to the rule. These ten pearl-adorned creations are not only mesmerizing and spectacular in design, but they also come with very memorable price tags. From pearls owned by famous actresses to pearl strands belonging to duchesses, here are the top 10 most expensive pearl jewelry pieces ever sold at auction.
10 Pierre Cartier’s Two Strand Pearl Necklace
This special two strand pearl necklace is no other than the piece that started Pierre Cartier’s jewelry empire. Not only is this gorgeous pearl jewelry piece a historical treasure, but its necklace length and value places it among the world’s most expensive jewelry designs, with a price tag of no less than $1 million USD.
9 The Emerald Cabochon Three Strand Natural Pearl Necklace
Next in line: this stunning 180 piece pearl necklace featuring a graduated display, complete with an emerald cabochon detail, as well as a brilliant diamond clasp closure. Its price: a whopping $1.4 million, when auctioned at New York Magnificent Jewels.
8 The Graduated Five Strand Natural Pearl Necklace
Luxurious and exotic, this next piece is in a league of its own. Featuring no less than five strands of radiant ivory pearls, the necklace comes with a silk chain and a unique, bohemian-inspired clasp. Sold in 2012 at Christie’s, this gorgeous piece was valued at $1.7 million.
7 The Peacock-colored Cowdray Pearls
More strands don’t necessarily mean a higher price tag – and this single strand necklace proves just that. The famous Cowdray piece comes with the amazing price tag of $3.35 million USD, despite its rather minimalistic design. Featuring peacock-colored pearls displayed in a graduated design, the creation is uniquely iridescent, with its pearls ranging from purple to brown and green.
6 The Impressively Large Lao Tzu Pearl
This next pearly beauty on our list is no other than the world’s largest known pearl. Meet the Lao Tzu pearl or ‘The Pearl of Allah’, aka one of the most expensive gems ever produced by the ocean. Its value: more than $3.5 million dollars.
5 The Diamond Clasp Double Strand Necklace
This diamond-adorned pearl necklace features 120 large gems, in radiant white and ivory, with undertones of pale green and pink. Completed with a clasp designed by Cartier, the stunning jewelry piece was sold with the massive price tag of $3.7 million USD.
4 Duchess of Windsor’s Single Strand Necklace
As an avid collector of unique jewelry pieces, Wallis Simpson, the American socialite who turned Duchess of Windsor, cherished this single strand pearl necklace. The value of the ivory-hued piece, when it was sold at a Sotheby’s auction: $4.8 million USD.
3 The Two Strand Baroda Pearl Necklace
With its jaw-dropping price tag of $7.1 million USD, this two-strand necklace was originally a seven strand piece, belonging to Princess Sita Devi of Baroda. The creation was sold back in 2007 at auction house Christie’s in New York.
2 The Seven Strand Pearl Necklace
Meet the second most expensive pearl jewelry piece in the world, also known as Christie Geneva’s seven-strand pearl necklace. With its gorgeous design featuring no less than 600 natural pearls in shades of radiant cream and gold, this luxurious creation was sold back in 2013 for a whopping $9.1 million USD.
1 The Exquisite La Peregrina Pearl
As the most famous pearl in the world, it’s no wonder that the gorgeous La Peregrina takes the top spot on our list. It once belonged to actress Elizabeth Taylor, who displayed the gorgeous pearl in a deluxe necklace adorned with rubies, diamonds, and more pearls. Back in 2011, the Peregrina necklace was sold for $11 million USD at Christie’s.
