With markets witnessing a surge in the popularity of natural pearls, the demand for
conch pearls, too, has gone up, prompting designers and jewellers to embrace the
trend and craft unique pieces that pay homage to the beauty of these rare, lustrous
finds, reports Smitha Sadanandan, our UK correspondent.
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Mikimoto’s conch pearl ear studs encrusted with fancy-cut diamonds.
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Mikimoto’s pink conch pearl necklace and earrings set with fancy-cut diamonds.
Ballerina Butterfly
The fancy brown-yellow diamond, diamonds and conch pearl ‘Ballerina Butterfly’ brooch, co-designed by Cindy Chao and Sarah-Jessica Parker offered in the Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale in October 2014 in Hong Kong sold for $1,212,036 (HKD 9,400,000). The net proceeds were passed on to benefit the New York City Ballet. Copyright Sotheby’s.
This necklace from Boghossian Jewels (formerly Bogh-Art) features 32 conch pearls, including one incredibly rare drop-shaped conch pearl weighing 23.97 carats.
The earrings by Boghossian are patterned with natural saltwater conch pearl, clam pearl and diamonds.
The mismatched earrings by Boghossian feature pink and white diamonds, natural conch pearl and briolette Ceylon sapphire.
ormer cellist-turned-contemporary designer, Anna Hu recently unveiled her new range of jewels, depicting the beauty of conch pearls. Anna has used conch pearls in the past, albeit infrequently; this is the first time she has
devoted an entire collection to these gorgeous pink treasures of the sea. The designer gravitates towards conch pearls that are larger than 10 carats and have an intense pink hue and clear flame texture, as evident in her new line. “Rarity and exclusivity is what I’m known for, so I created my Eden Paradise Collection to pay homage to these rare gems,” says Anna, who crafts artisanal pieces under her label Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie.
Since London-based independent designer Sarah Ho first used conch pearls in her Paradis earrings to celebrate the fifth anniversary of her company, she has been noticing them around a lot more. “Conch pearls are so delicate in their colour and have natural form and shape that they work perfectly with my designs,” says Sarah, who has accentuated her feminine Paradis and Peony earrings with conch pearls from Belize along with brilliant-cut diamonds. “A matching pair of conch pearls is difficult to find and have a great presence in a piece of jewellery.”
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Mikimoto ring highlighted with conch pearl and diamonds.
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It is not just independent designers like Anna and Sarah, who are turning to conch pearls to dress up their creative visions. Cartier, Boucheron and Tiffany, have for long, declared their love for conch pearls. Independent jewellery houses – Boghossian and Hemmerle – too have crafted new pieces adorned with these lustrous and rare finds.
More jewellers seem inclined to craft conch pearl jewellery these days than in the past. What has sparked this renewed love for conch pearls? Perhaps, it is the global surge in the popularity of natural pearls, which has extended to conch pearls. “There is resurgence in the popularity of conch pearls mainly because these pearls are natural. The recent move away from more traditional stones to semi-precious gemstones of interesting colour has also sparked an interest,” states Daniela Mascetti, senior international specialist-jewellery division, Sotheby’s UK, adding, “these highly sought-after pearls are also becoming increasingly rare as the queen conch comes under greater threat.”
“Conch pearls are getting rarer by the day with oceans becoming increasingly polluted,” observes Anna.
Produced naturally by the queen conch mollusc, mainly found in the Caribbean, it is estimated that “only one in 10,000 conchs produces a pearl”. What makes them so precious is that less than 10% of these are of gem quality. Despite their name, these are not actually
Eden Paradise Earrings III
The 18-karat white gold earrings designed by Anna Hu feature a conch pearl weighing 9.43 carats, another conch pearl of 9 carats, 53 pink sapphires totalling 3.23 carats, 24 pearls of 1.02 carats, 29 rose cut diamonds of 1.62 carats, and 318 round brilliant-cut diamonds weighing 5.88 carats.
pearls and are devoid of nacre. Usually, small in size, conch pearls come in a variety of colours such as beige, orange and pink, with rose pink being the most desirable. Besides, the colour and rarity there are other factors that jewellers examine with a discerning eye to ensure they pick high quality conch pearls. Colour, flame, shape and size are the key qualities, and equally important is the deep pink colour, which needs to be uniform across the entire pearl. “The flame texture that plays across the surface must be as apparent as possible, while the shape has to be a uniform oval/round or button. Of course, if all these other factors are present, the bigger the better. However, when you say big in good quality conch terms, anything over 10-mm is rare,” says Jeremy Burbanks, wholesale director for Mikimoto.
When it comes to pearls, we expect Japanese jewellery house Mikimoto to surprise us with remarkable pieces. Mikimoto designed a suite of jewels using conch pearls. “The beauty and extreme rarity of the best quality conch pearls make them a perfect choice for designing one-of-a-kind high jewellery piece. Not too long ago, these pearls were not that highly sought-after, but slowly, the word spread from the informed collector to the wider jewellery buying community,” says Jeremy, adding that it is very difficult to find good conch pearls nowadays. Although efforts are on to find a breakthrough, the absence of reliable methods for culturing conch pearls makes each piece natural and extraordinary.
The Couture Paradis earrings mounted in platinum and 18-karat rose gold, are studded wtih brilliant- cut diamonds and conch pearls by Sarah Ho.
Flamingo Brooch
The conch pearl, diamond and emerald Flamingo brooch fetched $93,503 (HKD 725,000) at the Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Sotheby’s Hong Kong sale. Copyright Sotheby’s.
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The popularity of conch pearl elements in jewellery came to the fore in the late 19th century and early 20th century. There are a variety of reasons for this enthusiasm for conch pearls during the Edwardian period. Firstly, during this period, any unknown or unusual stones or materials, which were newly discovered, were immediately popular – as was the case with conch pearls.
The ‘pearls’ themselves are very pretty and decorative, and so were a perfect fit for the Art Nouveau aesthetic. They also suited the fashion, which favoured jewels created with artistry over those that simply showcased the intrinsic value of a particular precious stone or diamond. The wonderful array of delicate colours of conch pearls perfectly suited the very feminine lines of the garland style and Art Deco designs. This popularity was also boosted by examples of stunning jewels such as the Queen Mary Conch Pearl Brooch, a prominent jewel from the early 20th century.
DANIELA MASCETTI, senior international specialist-jewellery division, Sotheby’s UK offers more insight about conch pearls.
Sarah Ho’s peony earrings mounted in 18-karat white gold are ornamented with diamonds, conch pearls and mother-of-pearl inlay.
The conch pearl is the centre of attraction in this single-line diamond necklace by Mikimoto.
Owing to the rarity, jewellers often craft one-off pieces. One of the prettiest recent interpretations of this natural wonder is the miniature sculpture-like ‘Ballerina Butterfly,’ designed by Taiwanese jewellery artist Cindy Chao in collaboration with actress and shoe designer Sarah Jessica Parker. This gorgeous brooch sold at Sotheby’s (Hong Kong) in 2013 for $1.2 million (HKD 9.4 million). Featuring three strikingly beautiful conch pearls along with fancy brown-yellow diamonds and white diamonds, it became the talk of the town as the sale proceeds went to the New York City Ballet.
Increased prices have fuelled the demand from discerning buyers and pearl connoisseurs wanting to own something exclusive. There is no denying that the love for conch pearls is strong and the hope is that with this renewed love for conch pearls, jewellery houses and designers will celebrate the gem’s beauty and ensure the love for the elusive pearls never wanes.
Cartier’s Conch Pearl Bracelet
The unique and highly important conch pearl, enamel and diamond bracelet by Cartier dating back to the late 1920s, broke the world auction record for any conch pearl jewel at the Magnificent Jewels, Sotheby’s Geneva in November 2012. The bracelet, formerly in the personal collection of Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain, fetched $3,41,147 (CHF 3,274,500). Copyright Sotheby’s.
Most of the conch pearls are sourced from the Caribbean and South Florida regions. With the international trade protection governing the trade in conch pearls, big players like Mikimoto buy ethically sourced pearls from its network of reliable suppliers. “The increased awareness has multiplied the demand for a commodity that has very limited supply,” Jeremy adds.
A quick glance at pieces sold at auction houses in the recent past, indicate a growing interest in conch pearl jewellery, especially those with provenance like the Cartier bracelet made for Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain. The sumptuous Cartier bracelet – set in diamonds, enamel and conch pearls – created during the inter-war period sold at Sotheby’s for $3,461,146 (more than four times its pre-sale estimate), setting a new world auction record for a conch pearl jewel, while another beautiful piece (private collector), ‘Flamingo’ brooch, bagged a delightful price selling for HKD 725,000.
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Butterfly earrings by Illgiz F; pearls cut by Victor Tuzlukov.
Ilgiz F Butterflies enamel ring with Tahitian pearls faceted by Viktor Tuzlukov.
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Russia-based gemstone facetor Victor Tuzlukov is famed for his expertise in faceting pearls. Participating in various international faceting competitions helped Victor bring very high standards of precision cutting to his pearl faceting technique. He imbues his faceted pearls with dramatic aesthetics – undeniably tough to achieve, except by an expert.
Faceting a pearl with high quality polishing usually takes from 10 to 30 hours, depending on the size and faceting design, explains Victor. “I try not to deal with small pearls less than 10 mm; pearls of 12-14 mm look much more exciting. The biggest pearl, I used to cut, was 18 mm. In this case, the layer of 0.5 – 0.7 mm is cut off, so that the nacre layer of the cultivated pearl is enough. More often, I tend to cut pearls of 14-16 mm, the optimum number of facets being 150-160,” says Victor, adding that the maximum number of facets he has made on a pearl totalled 361.
Victor has patented his method of exacting and high-precision pearl polishing. “My pearls are distinguished by the mirror-like perfect flat surface of facets; sharp edges between facets that like a knife blade don’t reflect light; precise meet points and
symmetry as well,” he says. This, explains Victor, is attained by the usage of the tiniest bit of diamond powder for polishing and hard polishing lap.
As you examine one of Victor’s faceted pearls, you unfailingly notice the super glossy surface, which is very much different from the factory-faceted versions available in the market from regions such as Asia and Japan. Additionally, the factory-faceted pearls take less time to cut and facet, and hence do not come with a hefty price tag, prompting a much wider use. n
A faceted pearl.
