Important and rare, pearl and diamond brooch, Mid 19th Century

Set to the surmount with an old mine diamond weighing 7.86 carats to a cut-down collet, suspending a natural pearl drop to a rose-cut, and old mine diamond cupola mount,

For further details on the diamond, please refer to the GIA Report. For details of the natural pearl, please refer to the Precious Stone Laboratory Report. Weight of the pearl, according to this Report 40.67 carats, beautiful lustre with a good skin and creamy body colour, some natural growth marks. Some discolouration of the metal and traces of recent polishing. Remarkable piece of jewellery in overall very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Please note that colour, clarity and weight of gemstones are statements of opinion only and not statements of fact by Sotheby's. We do not guarantee, and are not responsible for any certificate from a gemological laboratory that may accompany the property. We do not guarantee that watches are in working order. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue, in particular to the Notice regarding the treatment and condition of gemstones and to the Notice regarding import of Burmese jadeite and rubies into the US.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

'Golconda' is a name steeped in the annuls of diamond lore.  The name of a now ruined fortress which originally served as a commercial trading centre, some days distant from the historic Indian mines of Ramalakota, Kollur and Soumelpour.  The term 'Golconda' has now survived to describe the historic diamonds peculiar to India of great limpidity and purity.  These diamonds are from the famed "First water" mines, which produced the world's most spectacular diamonds, such as the The Koh-I-Noor, The Hope and The Agra.  This beautiful stone, with its appealing antique cut, is a member of the rare Type IIa group of diamonds known for their extreme purity, qualities compared so often throughout history to pure crystallized water.  Scientifically this purity is due to the absence of nitrogen, producing stones often said to be beyond white.

Pearls, one of nature's great wonders have puzzled some of the wisest figures of antiquity.  Valentin held that they where the eggs of female oysters, while Pliny thought them as the production of the dew.  Prized since antiquity, the Romans held them in great esteem; whilst Cleopatra, is said to have taken a pearl from her ear and dissolved it in a glass of wine at a banquet held in honour of Mark Anthony.  Today we understand that the pearl is formed by the oyster in an attempt to coat an irritant inside the shell in calcareous material, also known as nacre. One of the most famous pearls 'La Peregrina' found by a slave in the Gulf of Panama in the 16th Century was presented to Ferdinand V and became part of the Spanish treasury in 1513.  In 1554 it was presented to Mary Tudor by her fiancée Phillip II, after passing through a succession of owners it was sold to the Marquis of Abercorn, finally being sold to Richard Burton in 1969 who purchased it for Elizabeth Taylor from Sotheby's Geneva.  In November 2007 Sotheby's New York sold a natural pearl drop from the collection of Kelly & Calvin Klein, formerly from the collection of the Duchess of Windsor.  This had originally belonged to Mary of Teck, Queen consort of George V of Great Britain, and sold for $420,000.