Bonham's Los Angeles Natural History Auction Dec. 6th! - A Fly On The Wall’s Views and Reviews

…and the star of the show…. a five-pound blister pearl found off the coast of the Philippines that has been dubbed the “Palawan Princess.”

The natural non-nacreous pearl was found in saltwater near the Philippines’ Palawan island and “bears an uncanny resemblance to a human brain,” the auction house said. Both rare and immense, the gem is thought to be surpassed in size only by the 14-pound “Pearl of Allah,” an approximately 14-pound, 31,893.5-carat pearl that, like the Palawan Princess, was the product of the giant clam shell Tridacna gigas and was also found off the coastal waters of the Philippines.

The approximately 11,339-carat Palawan Princess is a blister pearl measuring six inches in diameter and accompanied by the lower half of its original giant clam shell, which shows the point of attachment where the pearl formed.

The pearl, which will be on the auction block at Bonhams and Butterfields‘ Dec. 6 holiday auction of Natural History in Los Angeles, is valued at $300,000 and $400,000.

Check out the entire catalog for this event. On December 6th in Los Angeles, the gavel will drop on an array of natural wonders!

Thanks go to Author and Appraiser Diana Jarrett, GG, RMV for the photo of her in Bonham’s backroom – it really puts the size of this piece into perspective.