Pearl jewelry has always been especially popular among women. Necklaces, earrings were made from this precious stone, and it was inserted into rings. Pearls, even when stored under special conditions, are not as durable as other stones, because when they are removed from the shell of an oyster or clam, they interact with air, which does not have access to the shell. But there are pearls in the world that are unlikely to be suitable for women’s jewelry because of their gigantic size. So how much does the largest pearl in the world weigh?
Philippines, Palowan Island, “Pearl of Allah”
The history of this pearl, which was caught in 1934, is very tragic. For a long time, local residents could not find their missing young leader, who went to the sea and did not return. The young man, as usual, was engaged in pearl fishing - for the Filipino residents this is one of the means of livelihood. Diving once again, in search of possible prey, he encountered a giant mollusk, which weighed about three tons.
As soon as the young pearl catcher extended his hand into the shell flap, the killer tridacna instantly slammed the shell flaps, and the young man was no longer able to pull his hand out. It’s not surprising, because the strength of such a giant sea creature is much greater than that of a human. In search of their leader, the inhabitants of the island came to the seashore and found his things there. They immediately realized that something bad had happened. When they started diving in that place, they found both a dead young man and a huge mollusk.
As soon as the residents freed the leader’s hand from the captivity of the mollusk, inside they discovered a huge pearl. It is difficult to say how many years it grew inside this sea creature. Her weight was almost 6.5 kilograms. The shape of this stone was very similar to a human head. A mullah from a local mosque saw a turban in this pearl and decided to call it the Pearl of Allah.
The pearl has a geometrically irregular shape, and in its structure and convolutions it was somewhat similar to the human brain. True, unlike pearls that are found in oyster shells, it does not have a distinctive mother-of-pearl luster, which, of course, affected its cost. But this pearl rightfully became the record holder of the Guinness Book of Records, as the largest pearl in the world.
The Pearl of Allah is the largest pearl in the world
The largest natural pearl is the Pearl of Allah, or the Pearl of Lao Tzu, found in 1934 on the Philippine island of Palawan. The diameter of the giant pearl is 23.8 cm and its weight is 6.37 kg. This amazing sea treasure has an irregular shape and does not have the typical shine of pearls, however, it is a real natural masterpiece.
A huge pearl was found as a result of an accident in the shell of a giant tridacna (Tridacna gigas). While fishing for pearls, a young fisherman did not notice the open valves of a mollusk well camouflaged in a coral rock and accidentally hit his hand in the shell. The giant tridacna slammed the flaps of its shell, the young fisherman's hand was trapped, from which he could not free himself.
The young man's body along with the mollusk was raised to the surface. When the shell was opened, they found a huge pearl in it. The amazing find looked very much like a human head in a turban. That is why the giant pearl was called the Pearl of Allah.
Like many other precious stones, in addition to the real history, the Pearl of Allah also has its own legend. It says that the great Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu carved the faces of Buddha, Confucius, as well as his portrait and placed them in three separate pearl shells. The amulets were naturally covered with mother-of-pearl. To make pearls increase in size, they were transplanted into a larger shell and passed on from generation to generation. The latest were the shells of giant tridacnids. During transportation, one of them was lost during a storm in the Philippine Islands. It was this lost shell that a young pearl fisher accidentally stumbled upon. According to this legend, the giant pearl received another name - the Pearl of Lao Tzu.
For some time, the amazing pearl was kept in the family of the deceased fisherman. But in the end it was presented to Wilbur Cobb as gratitude for saving the life of the son of the leader of a tribe living on the Philippine island of Palowan. In 1980, Cobb's heir sold the Pearl of Allah to Californian jeweler Peter Hoffman, who paid $200,000 for it. A little later, the jeweler resold the pearl to Vitor Barbish, who is still its owner to this day.
Interestingly, in the 90s, Osama bin Laden wanted to buy the pearl and offered $60 million for it. Barbish refused to sell the Pearl of Allah to a known terrorist and placed it in the vault of an American bank. According to Barbish, he plans to donate the world's largest pearl to some eminent state museum so that everyone can admire its amazing natural beauty.
New record holder
Apparently, the famous pearl of Allah will have to give up the palm to the new record holder. In 2021, an irregularly shaped pearl weighing 34 kg and measuring 30 by 67 centimeters was discovered.
About 10 years ago, a fisherman from the island of Palawan pulled it out from the bottom. All this time, he superstitiously, fearing to frighten away his luck, secretly kept the treasure under his bed. And so, years after the discovery, he presented the giant pearl to the world. If experts finally confirm the authenticity of his find, the treasure will be recognized as the largest pearl in history.
And here is the culprit of the commotion and, perhaps, the new world record holder.
Pearl of Lao Ji
In addition to the official version, there is also a legend about the appearance of this “baby”. The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu instructed his students to engrave the faces of Confucius, Buddha and their own on a jade amulet, and place it in the shell of a large mollusk. He thereby wanted to show that since completely different people with their own philosophical perception of the world can peacefully coexist in one shell, then all people should live in peace and harmony on our planet. His followers had to guard the shell with the pearl for four years, in his opinion, this was supposed to bring harmony and peace to society.
But the pearl kept growing, and the students had to transfer it from one shell to another, more suitable to its size. In order to stop the many wars that arose between contenders for this pearl, it was decided to take it outside of China. In 1780, she was loaded onto a boat, but off the coast of Palawan, the sailors were caught in a terrible storm. During a storm, the boat capsized, people died, and a huge pearl was lost.
This story was presented to the world by American archaeologist Wilburn Cobb. According to him, at the Ripley Museum, where this pearl was exhibited (1939), one of the visitors, the Chinese Li, approached him and claimed that this was exactly the pearl, traces of which were lost in the 18th century. Expert opinion refutes this legend, since the age of the pearl itself is no more than 600 years, and the great Chinese philosopher lived more than 2000 years ago.
At the moment, the largest pearl in the world is kept in the family of Victor Barbish. It is not known for certain where the stone is located, because the owner of this masterpiece keeps it in a secret underground vault in the USA, protecting it from sunlight, which could damage the pearl. The Pearl of Allah is valued at $40 million.
But Victor Barbish himself claims that Bin Laden’s people offered him all 60 million for the precious stone. They planned to present it as a gift to the former ruler of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. But the owner of the masterpiece did not sell the pearl and plans to eventually transfer it for storage to one of the world’s museums, where everyone can admire it.
Pearl of Gogibus
A unique pearl, not quite regular pear-shaped, but very large - its weight is about 130 carats. It received its name in honor of the brave merchant Francois Goguibus, who acquired it on the islands of the West Indies and brought it to Spain in 1620. According to legend, the merchant invested his entire fortune in the jewel and offered to buy it to the Spanish King Philip IV. When the monarch asked the traveler how he was not afraid to spend all his savings on one single stone, he replied: “Because I knew that there was a king of Spain to buy it from me.” Philip had no choice but to pay for the curiosity and insert it into his crown.
This jewel was considered the largest pearl in Europe until it disappeared in the 18th century. However, in 2010, it unexpectedly appeared at an online auction and was sold for $3 million.
New record holder
Quite recently, sensational news spread around the world that a pearl was found there, in the Philippines, which weighs much more than the Pearl of Allah. The weight of the new record holder is as much as 34 kilograms, and his homeland is the same island of Palawan.
A local fisherman kept this jewel simply under his bed, as a talisman, and was completely unaware of the true value of this pearl. While he was fishing on his boat, a strong storm began. When the Filipino tried to raise the anchor, it turned out that he was firmly caught on some snag. Having dived into the sea, the fisherman saw a huge shell and decided to simply keep it as a souvenir. And if there had not been a fire in his house, the biggest pearl in the world would still be collecting dust under the bed of this lucky man.
After he took it to a local travel agency, it was decided to leave the jewel in the city to attract tourists from all over the world. And now all that remains is to wait for the official examination, which can confirm that this find is indeed the largest pearl in the world.
Pearl of Gogibus
A unique pearl, not quite regular pear-shaped, but very large - its weight is about 130 carats. It received its name in honor of the brave merchant Francois Goguibus, who acquired it on the islands of the West Indies and brought it to Spain in 1620. According to legend, the merchant invested his entire fortune in the jewel and offered to buy it to the Spanish King Philip IV. When the monarch asked the traveler how he was not afraid to spend all his savings on one single stone, he replied: “Because I knew that there was a king of Spain to buy it from me.” Philip had no choice but to pay for the curiosity and insert it into his crown.
This jewel was considered the largest pearl in Europe until it disappeared in the 18th century. However, in 2010, it unexpectedly appeared at an online auction and was sold for $3 million.
Interesting facts about pearls
They say that Queen Cleopatra once argued with Mark Antony, promising to make the most expensive cocktail from ordinary wine. She dissolved a large pear-shaped pearl in a glass and drank it in one gulp in front of the amazed admirer. The dispute was won.
Here are some more interesting facts related to pearls:
- In total, there are 8 pearl configurations: oval, pear, button, semicircle, drop, circle, sphere and arbitrary irregular shape.
- Marie de Medici, Queen of France, was very fond of wearing pearls and had one special dress in her wardrobe. It was all embroidered with jewelry, of which there were about 30 thousand pieces.
- On the territory of ancient Rus' there were more than 50 rivers where pearl fishing was carried out. It was mainly concentrated in the northwestern part of the country.
- It is a rare occurrence when there are two pearls in a shell at once. An example of natural “magic” was the discovery of nine pearls at once, fused with each other in a cross shape and called the “Great Southern Cross”.
- Coco Chanel elevated pearls to the rank of classic jewelry. With her light hand, he came into fashion, becoming certainly associated with the little black dress. As the great fashion designer said, pearls are always right.
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Pearls have long captivated humanity, especially its weaker half. And we have developed a strong idea of pearls as rolled rainbow balls. Although somewhere in the subcortex we know that pearls can be irregular in shape, and not even rainbow at all. When we hear about pearls in 6 kg. A fairy tale seems like a weight to us. But what is the reality? Pearl of Allah (Pearl of Lao Tzu) - found in the South China Sea on May 7, 1934. The largest pearl in the world. Extracted from a tridacna mollusk weighing about 300 kg, the weight of the pearl was 6.35 kg, size: 24 * 14 cm .Her appearance or appearance was accompanied by a heartbreaking legend. Allegedly, she was discovered by the son of one of the Philippine leaders. The boy dived for pearls, got his foot into the shell of the mollusk. They shrank and the boy was drowned. And when the leader sent people to raise the boy and betray his body burial, they had to remove the mollusk from the water, because the harmful mollusk would not let go of the child’s body. When the mollusk valves were opened, they saw a stunningly beautiful pearl inside. With which the sea seemed to make up for the loss of the leader. I hope I didn’t scare you with this fairy tale? Experts with ease they refuted it. Firstly, the tridacna, which is what we were talking about, does not close the valves tightly. Therefore, it cannot hold anyone, much less drown them. Secondly, the tridacna does not have a mother-of-pearl layer... So what are the most famous pearls of the world like? Shape “Pearls of Allah” very much resembles the head of a man in a turban. According to one version, the pearl is cultured and the resemblance to a human head is not accidental: perhaps several hundred years ago, the figurine of the head was placed in a mollusk shell by the Chinese (hence the second name - Lao Tzu). Unfortunately, the pearl is not covered with nacre, which significantly reduces its value.
The second largest pearl in the world, under the poetic name "Princess of Palawan", will be put up for auction. The auction took place at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles at the Bonham and Butterfields auction on December 6, 2009. The weight of the pearl is 2.3 kg, and the preliminary cost of the “Princess of Palawan” is 300 - 400 thousand dollars. “This is a unique chance to look at one of nature's most stunning treasures. A pearl of this size is not only one of the largest we have ever seen, it is one of the largest pearls known throughout the world! The diameter is surpassed only by the “Pearl of Allah” weighing 6.3 kg (31893.5 carats). The shape of the pearl resembles the human brain. It is named after the island of the same name, in the Philippine waters of which it was found.
But what about the debunked dreams? And didn’t they ask for a lot for a piece of limestone? And who needed such a pearl?
"Fairytale for Adults" Post Series:
Part 1 - Disney Fantasy Part 2 - Elf Children.Cicelle Mary Barker. Part 3 - The largest pearls in the world. Part 4 - Designer Yaya Han. Peacock Maiden. Part 5 - Once again about Cecile Mary Barker. ... Part 27 - Mosaic of butterflies. Part 28 - Underground and, at the same time, "ruby". Ruby Falls Part 29 - A. Mukha. Memorable.
