Edinburgh, Scotland—A large pearl fished out of a river in Scotland 57 years ago and nicknamed “Little Willie” is going up for auction this week.
On Wednesday, Edinburgh auction house Lyon & Turnbull will offer the Abernethy Pearl, a Scottish freshwater pearl named after the man who discovered it, the late William (Bill) Abernethy.
Trained as a pearl fisherman by his father and known as a master of the craft, Abernethy found the gemstone that bears his name in a mussel shell in 1967, though he never publicly disclosed where in Scotland he found it.
He took it to renowned family jeweler Cairncross of Perth, where it has remained ever since.
The natural freshwater pearl weighs 10.91 carats and is 10.5-10.6 mm in size, according to its report from The Gem & Pearl Laboratory in London.
It is the largest Scottish pearl recovered in recent history, though it is not the largest of all time, the auction house noted. That honor belongs to the Kellie Pearl set in the Crown of Scotland, which dates to the 1540s and is one of the oldest surviving crowns in Europe.
In
a video made for the Lyon & Turnbull YouTube channel, Head of Jewellery Ruth Davis explains why the Abernethy Pearl was such a rare find.
“Scottish pearls are often very varied in color and shape. They display a cream to brownish, sometimes more whiteish colors, and the shape itself is often very misshapen—sometimes ovoid, sometimes round, sometimes completely baroque,” she said.
“To have a large example of perfect spherical form with a fantastic luster and beautiful color is very unusual.”
Watch: Ruth Davis Praises the Abernethy Pearl
Adding to the pearl’s rarity is the fact that pearl fishing has been banned in the country since 1998.
The ban was put in place because mussels were in danger of becoming extinct from Scotland’s rivers, partly due to over-fishing and partly due to higher rates of pollution, Davis said to National Jeweler via email.
“Traditional and highly experienced fishers were careful and trained to take only mussels that were likely to contain pearls; many could partially open the mussel and replace if it was empty, protecting the stock and therefore their livelihood,” she explained.
“However, there was an influx in less scrupulous [and/or] inexperienced fishers who took the mussels indiscriminately, and so stock became dangerously low.”
Through conservation work, Scotland’s mussel population seems to be slowly recovering, Davis added.
The Abernethy Pearl is expected to sell for £40,000-£60,000 (approximately $52,000-$78,000), plus fees.
It is the highlight of Lyon & Turnbull’s upcoming “The Cairncross Collection” auction featuring pieces from the renowned Scottish jewelers.
Opened in 1869 by brothers Alexander and George Cairncross, Cairncross of Perth was a family-owned jewelry store on St. John Street known for its strands of Scottish pearls and floral brooches.
The retailer championed Scottish pearls as a scarce natural resource and became the leader in the market, so much so that, according to Lyon & Turnbull, local pearl fishers, like Abernethy, brought their finds to Cairncross of Perth first.
Alistair Cairncross and his brother, Jimmy Cairncross, were the last member of the Cairncross family to own the store.
