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"La Regente"- La Perle Napoléon

This pearl was sold October 11, 2005 for $2,516,360.00

Another record was set for a single pearl, La Perle Napoleon, also known as La Regente. The oval-shaped natural pearl, weighing 302.68 grams is set in a silver and gold mount with old-cut diamonds. It was sold previously at Christie’s Geneva in 1988 for $850,000, a world record at the time. The record was truly smashed at this sale. The pearl was sold to an Asian private for $2,516,360, three times the high estimate.

History

Property from the Collection of Her Royal Highness
The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

Tuesday, 13 June
Jewellery 3:00 pm; Jewellery & Faberge 6:00 pm

Jewelry belonging to one of the Royal Family's most glamorous personalities is to go under the hammer as Viscount Linley prepares to sell off items from the collection of his mother, the late Princess Margaret.
The Queen's lovely younger sister, who passed away in early 2002, led a dashing and high-profile life, and the pieces are due to be auctioned at Christie's.

Among the items are a 5 strand pearl necklace with diamond clasp (an 18th Birthday gift to Margaret from Queen Mary) expected to reach around £35,000:

Christie's

Nancy Morgan elected 1st Tahitian Pearl Ambassadress

(Tahitipresse) - Nineteen-year-old Nancy Morgan has been elected the first Tahitian Pearl Ambassadress and will spend the next year officially representing Tahiti's gem in promotional operations worldwide.

The two runners-up in the election held Thursday night at InterContinental Resort Tahiti were Loanah Chong, 22, and Heirautini Krainer, 20. They were among 13 young ladies competing for the title.

Ms. Morgan won a check for 300,000 French Pacific francs (US$3,297/€2,514), a sash covered with 1,000 Tahitian cultured pearls, a piece of jewelry with a value of 300,000 French Pacific francs.

Glen Tehaamatai, the general manager of Tahiti Pearl Market, a Papeete store that sells loose Tahitian pearls, organized the Tahitian Pearl Ambassadress election with the support of the French Polynesia Sea Ministry and Perles de Tahiti, the Papeete-based trade organization that promotes Tahiti's gem worldwide.

"The fact that I usually speak English had to play in my favor," said Ms. Morgan. "This title is an amazing chance since I was unemployed." She will receive a monthly salary of 300,000 French Pacific francs during her one-year contract.

"The ambassadress will make appearances at promotional events locally and overseas on behalf of the Tahitian cultured pearl," said Jean-François Dilhan, who handles communications for Tahiti Pearl Market. "We took the initiative of organizing this event because it's been several years that we have regretted that it has not been done by other organizations."

A sneak peek at a few of the new designs to be introduced in Las Vegas.

Make sure you take time to come and see our new treasure!!

Couture - Salon 401

Luxury - Salon 228

JCK - PC 39

I was told not to show any of our new collection before the show but I just couldn't help myself

Education

It is our belief an enhanced knowledge of the cultured pearl product category results in greater sales and an increased passion for pearls.

Pearl Farming in Papua New Guinea

Apart from the more common freshwater aquaculture, Papua New Guinea also boasts of apearl oyster farm. There are three farms proposed to be based in Milne Bay, Western and

New Ireland Provinces. Of the three, only the Milne Bay farm has been in full

commercial operation since 1998.

Early Papua New Guinea

Pearl history

Past Pearl Education Articles Unusual Pearls Pearl Farming around The World

May, 2006 report from Kobe

The volume of this year’s crop is about 10% less than last year but the value remained about the same. This is due to the fact that has been an improvement in the quality. In our last report on the Japanese market we mentioned the fact that the cultivators have an option to leave the oysters in the water for longer than one year if they think there is a chance that the prolonged stay in the water will help the quality. This is what the cultivators did and they were rewarded with nicer pearls.

It seems that the Japanese are finally getting the point that you don’t have to try and produce as many pearls as you can, just make sure the ones you produce are nice quality.

The pearls that we purchased this month on our most recent trip had a heavier nacre coating than those we bought last year. The skin was also smoother and there was less spotting. As soon as we started selecting the pearls the difference between this year and last year’s crop became very apparent.

There was an increase in the volume of 5 MM pearls this year. This size has been very hard to obtain in a nicer quality for many years. The Japanese have realized that by concentrating on smaller more difficult sizes they will get a premium for them at auction time.

There was a decrease in the volume of 7 MM and 6 MM pearls. The volume of 7 MM was down about 20 % and the volume of 6 MM was down about 15%. Since the quality of the pearls is better than before and we concentrate on better quality in our buying, we were still able to get a decent quantity.

The volume of 8 MM was pretty much the same as last year. Like the other sizes, the quality has improved. And, can you believe this, there is an increase in the volume of 9 MM pearls. On top of that, the quality is also nice. Our main supplier told us that because of the improved quality demand for Japanese Akoya has picked up considerably and if it remains strong there could be shortages.