Natural Golden Pearl Necklace at Bonham's Fine Jewelry Auction Oct 2014

[MSC]

I thought you guys would enjoy this: http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/22244/lot/45/

The SSEF report states that it is made of natural saltwater pearls - I wonder if it's P. maculata? I have a few pipis similar in color to these.

 

[CathyKeshi]

Oooh, aren't those lovely ?!?

 

[KAC]

wow, that's one heck of a strand of natural pearls. I'm actually surprised the estimated value is as low as it is, I would have expected 6 digits.

 

[kiwipaul]

Fabulous natural necklace, and very special as triple strands, I wonder what date these were put together?

I suspect now that golden pearls are so highly regarded, these may go a lot higher than the estimate.

Here's an interesting thought. If you go back to Art Deco cultured strands quite a few had a distinct yellow/golden/green/bronze overtone. However the fashion from 50's/60's onward was for a very white color with pink overtones.

I guess the yellowish pearls become seconds/rejects to be bleached and post treated, meanwhile growers bred/selected for whiter pearls.

I wonder if the fashion had trended towards golden shades back in the early days of cultureds, whether selection and breeding could have produced cultured golden Akoyas that look like these?

 

[MSC]

I'd be surprised if these don't go well over the high estimate. I've never seen a triple strand of natural goldens!

 

[pattye]

Definitely an auction to watch! This is one necklace I'd LOVE to see in person. Thanks very much, Andrea!

 

[MSC]

I second that, Pattye! This auction had quite a few natural strands, but this one was the stand out for me.

 

[kiwipaul]

It looks like this necklace did not sell, so presumably it didn't meet the expected price of US$ 60,000-80,000.

However looks like Bonhams had quite a good clearance rate on this sale, you can see the full post-auction report here:
http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/22244/#/aa0=1&MR0_length=100&w0=list&m0=0

 

[Lady_Disdain]

That is quite surprising, considering that natural pearls seem to have been doing well at auctions.

 

[MSC]

Thanks for posting that, Paul! I've seen Bonham's offer pieces that didn't sell previously, so maybe this one will come up again.

 

[Katbran]

Certainly an impressive strand/s !