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Lot Essay
A true organic beauty, conch pearls are the product of an entirely natural formation with no human intervention. The pearls are harvested from the Aliger gigas, or Queen conch, a mollusk found in the warm waters spanning from Bermuda to the Yucatán Peninsula. An estimated one in 10,000 Queen conch must be harvested before a single pearl is found, and only one in ten is said to be gem-quality, making the conch pearl a coveted yet difficult to obtain gem.
Precisely how the conch pearl forms within its shell remains a mystery due to the swirling curves of the Queen conch, but its formation is believed to be similar to that of other naturally occurring pearls. The accepted theory is that irritant enters the shell, around which concentric layers of fibrous crystals build up, eventually forming a calcareous concentration of aragonite, calcite and water that we call conch pearl. Just as culturing operations for oyster pearls developed to meet the public’s desire for pearl jewelry, several biological researchers have made attempts at developing a culturing process for the conch pearl. No successful effort has been recorded, thus maintaining the conch pearl’s exclusive status in jewelry.
While still referred to as a pearl, the conch pearl differs from oyster pearls with its absence of nacre, the composite material that provides oyster pearls with their iridescent luster. Instead, the finest conch pearls display a porcelaneous surface with a unique ‘flame’ characteristic that leaves the pearl with a mesmerizing shimmer. Flame’s distinctive waving chatoyancy is the result of calcite microcrystalline fibers arranged in concentric layers just below the conch pearl’s surface. All conch pearls display flame under magnification but only a valued few, like those in Lot 66, Van Cleef & Arpels Set of Conch Pearl, Diamond and Gold Jewelry, benefit from the flame being eye-visible.
A conch pearl’s color matches that of its host shell’s color, which changes over the course of the mollusk’s life. They can be found in various hues of white, beige, yellow, orange, brown, pink and red, the latter two being the most highly prized. A full color range of conch pearls is on display in Lot 63, Conch Pearl and Diamond Bead Longchain Necklace.
Lot 63 displays another sought-after trait – a perfectly spherical shape. Most conch pearls are oval-shaped, which adds to their organic allure, but the scarcity of round conch pearls makes them exceptionally desirable. Conch pearls’ often irregular forms lent themselves to the naturalistic motifs of the Art Nouveau and Edwardian periods. After a wane in popularity, they returned to use in the 1980s as Harry Winston and Mikimoto acquired collections of conch pearls for use in their jewels. The subsequent growth of interest in natural pearls, coupled with conch pearls’ entirely unique nature and limited supply make conch pearl jewelry increasingly popular to collectors’ who savor the hunt for rarity.
Precisely how the conch pearl forms within its shell remains a mystery due to the swirling curves of the Queen conch, but its formation is believed to be similar to that of other naturally occurring pearls. The accepted theory is that irritant enters the shell, around which concentric layers of fibrous crystals build up, eventually forming a calcareous concentration of aragonite, calcite and water that we call conch pearl. Just as culturing operations for oyster pearls developed to meet the public’s desire for pearl jewelry, several biological researchers have made attempts at developing a culturing process for the conch pearl. No successful effort has been recorded, thus maintaining the conch pearl’s exclusive status in jewelry.
While still referred to as a pearl, the conch pearl differs from oyster pearls with its absence of nacre, the composite material that provides oyster pearls with their iridescent luster. Instead, the finest conch pearls display a porcelaneous surface with a unique ‘flame’ characteristic that leaves the pearl with a mesmerizing shimmer. Flame’s distinctive waving chatoyancy is the result of calcite microcrystalline fibers arranged in concentric layers just below the conch pearl’s surface. All conch pearls display flame under magnification but only a valued few, like those in Lot 66, Van Cleef & Arpels Set of Conch Pearl, Diamond and Gold Jewelry, benefit from the flame being eye-visible.
A conch pearl’s color matches that of its host shell’s color, which changes over the course of the mollusk’s life. They can be found in various hues of white, beige, yellow, orange, brown, pink and red, the latter two being the most highly prized. A full color range of conch pearls is on display in Lot 63, Conch Pearl and Diamond Bead Longchain Necklace.
Lot 63 displays another sought-after trait – a perfectly spherical shape. Most conch pearls are oval-shaped, which adds to their organic allure, but the scarcity of round conch pearls makes them exceptionally desirable. Conch pearls’ often irregular forms lent themselves to the naturalistic motifs of the Art Nouveau and Edwardian periods. After a wane in popularity, they returned to use in the 1980s as Harry Winston and Mikimoto acquired collections of conch pearls for use in their jewels. The subsequent growth of interest in natural pearls, coupled with conch pearls’ entirely unique nature and limited supply make conch pearl jewelry increasingly popular to collectors’ who savor the hunt for rarity.