Natural pearl

A natural pearl forms by chance inside a mollusk, without any human help. Before the arrival of cultured pearls in the early twentieth century, all pearls were natural, and fine strands were worth more than diamonds. Today natural pearls are rare, and important ones are among the most valuable gems at auction.

Natural pearls appear in Georgian, Victorian and Belle Époque jewels and in the great sautoirs of the early twentieth century.

What to look for

Natural and cultured pearls can look alike. Only a laboratory, using X-ray imaging of the internal structure, can confirm that a pearl is natural, and important pearls should have a report.