Think about it. Pearl people like jewelry. I would wear that pearl as a pendant, but who else would? Even Liz's 49 carat diamond ring was about unwearable.
Right there you have eliminated 97% of abalone pearls buyers, maybe 99%. What you have left is collectors. What they want is perfection in size, shape, surface, color. Collectors usually have sources who contact them when they have something out of the ordinary. That one is huge and beautiful, but it is far from perfection.
So think about your market. Who could you sell that to? No true collector is going to buy from Karis site unless it is like nothing seen before. You may as well hold onto it as you are highly unlikely to get a retail price. It is not jewelry.
Below are a few shots from Wes and Tish's booth last month at the gem show in Tucson. I see one almost like yours in the lower left of the last picture. Look at them. They are not flying off the shelves. I doubt the Rankins need your pearl but they might give you a price you might sell at if you could find a customer. The fact is, is is very hard to find gem quality abalone pearls, the rest just pile up, unsold. That box was not his top of the line box, that one is on the top left and all of them are smaller and more colorful.
