A RARE NATURAL COLOURED PEARL AND DIAMOND RING, BY CARTIER The purplish-pink natural pearl measuring 13.2 x 11.5 mm to the square, baguette and marquise-cut diamond snowflake surround, mounted in palladium, circa 1950, ring size 7¼ Signed Cartier Accompanied by report no. 0404131 dated 14 September 2004 from the Gübelin Gem Lab stating that the purplish-pink pearl is natural, no indications of colour enhancement A letter from Dr. Jack Ogden on behalf of the Gem-A Gemmological Association, London, stating that 'The colour of the pearl is particular noteworthy. There is no universal colour standard for coloured pearls, but using the GemDialogue colour comparison charts, it would fall in the Red to Moderate Purplish Red range. Like other coloured pearls it is not a deeply saturated hue - we estimate that it has about 20 saturation, GemDialogue's 20 'Zone'. The term 'pink', an unsaturated red, might be used as a description in modern jewellery marketing - and is often specifically used to describe Conch Pearls - but it is my opinion that should a pearl of this colour appear in an older inventory or other historical document it would have been described as a 'Red Pearl'. At the time of examination the pearl was owned by a collector and had been exhibited in the major exhibition Pearls: A Natural History held at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, 2001 (we have confirmed this). However, it was a later addition to the show and is not listed in the catalogue of the same name. [...] According to the owner, at the time of purchase he was shown a document dating to the mid-twentieth century which stated that the pearl had been owned by an Indian Maharaja. The Maharaja in question is known to have made purchases from Cartier in Paris during the first half of the twentieth century and certainly until post World War 2.'
A RARE NATURAL COLOURED PEARL AND DIAMOND RING, BY CARTIER The purplish-pink natural pearl measuring 13.2 x 11.5 mm to the square, baguette and marquise-cut diamond snowflake surround, mounted in palladium, circa 1950, ring size 7¼ Signed Cartier Accompanied by report no. 0404131 dated 14 September 2004 from the Gübelin Gem Lab stating that the purplish-pink pearl is natural, no indications of colour enhancement A letter from Dr. Jack Ogden on behalf of the Gem-A Gemmological Association, London, stating that 'The colour of the pearl is particular noteworthy. There is no universal colour standard for coloured pearls, but using the GemDialogue colour comparison charts, it would fall in the Red to Moderate Purplish Red range. Like other coloured pearls it is not a deeply saturated hue - we estimate that it has about 20 saturation, GemDialogue's 20 'Zone'. The term 'pink', an unsaturated red, might be used as a description in modern jewellery marketing - and is often specifically used to describe Conch Pearls - but it is my opinion that should a pearl of this colour appear in an older inventory or other historical document it would have been described as a 'Red Pearl'. At the time of examination the pearl was owned by a collector and had been exhibited in the major exhibition Pearls: A Natural History held at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, 2001 (we have confirmed this). However, it was a later addition to the show and is not listed in the catalogue of the same name. [...] According to the owner, at the time of purchase he was shown a document dating to the mid-twentieth century which stated that the pearl had been owned by an Indian Maharaja. The Maharaja in question is known to have made purchases from Cartier in Paris during the first half of the twentieth century and certainly until post World War 2.'
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