Throughout history, pearls have been treasured by people of power and influence. Usually those that could afford these most delicate of gemstones, public figures such as the late Princess Diana, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Isabella Rosselini and Elizabeth Taylor, have been seen to be virtually inseparable from their pearls, as illustrated in these photographs.
  

Pliny, the world's first gemologist, writes in his famous Natural History that the two pearls were worth an estimated 60 million sesterces, or 1,875,000 ounces of fine silver ($9,375,000).
  

  
To see how pearls can become part of your family's heritage, why not drop by and see the many wonderful types of pearls available in our showrooms in Churchill Square.

Celebrities
and Their Pearls

One of the most well known stories involving pearls is that of the most famous banquet in history. To convince Rome that Egypt possessed a heritage and wealth that put it above conquest, Cleopatra wagered Marc Antony she could give the most expensive dinner in history. The Roman reclined as the queen sat with an empty plate and a goblet of wine (or vinegar). She crushed one of the large pearls from a pair of earrings, dissolved it in the liquid, then drank it down. Astonished, Antony declined his dinner -- the matching pearl -- and admitted she had won.