Mikimoto’s conch pearl
ear studs encrusted with
fancy-cut diamonds.
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.
40 solitaire INTERNATIONAL FEBRUary 2016
COVER STORY
Mikimoto’s pink conch pearl
necklace and earrings set with
fancy-cut diamonds.
solitaire INTERNATIONAL february 2016 41
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.
COVER STORY
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.”
This necklace from Boghossian
Jewels (formerly Bogh-Art) features
32 conch pearls, including one
incredibly rare drop-shaped conch
pearl weighing 23.97 carats.
Mikimoto ring highlighted with
conch pearl and diamonds.
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.
solitaire INTERNATIONAL february 2016 43
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
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.
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.
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COVER STORY
Sarah Ho’s peony earrings
mounted in 18-karat white
gold are ornamented with
diamonds, conch pearls
and mother-of-pearl inlay.
DANIELA MASCETTI, senior international specialistjewellery division, Sotheby’s UK offers more insight
about conch pearls.
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.
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.
The conch pearl is the centre of attraction in this single-line diamond necklace by Mikimoto.
COVER STORY
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.
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.
solitaire INTERNATIONAL february 2016 47
Butterfly earrings by Illgiz F;
pearls cut by Victor Tuzlukov.
Ilgiz F Butterflies enamel
ring with Tahitian pearls
faceted by Viktor Tuzlukov.
COVER STORY
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
A faceted pearl.
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
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