The Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF has successfully age-dated the historic "Ana Maria Pearl" using carbon-14. This is the first time such a procedure has been conducted on a historic natural pearl, to provide valuable and new information on the age of a gem.
The Ana Maria pearl will be up for auction at Christie's Magnificent Jewels auction on May 15, in Geneva. The jewel will be on public display as of May 10 at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues.
The data from this first-ever radiocarbon analysis revealed that the historic formation age for this natural pearl was between the 16th and mid-17th century AD. This confirms the documented historic provenance of the 'Ana Maria Pearl,' once owned by Ana Mar?? -a de Sevilla y Villanueva, XIV Marquise of Camarasa (1828-1861), which is presumed to have been discovered during the Spanish conquest of the Americas in the 16th century.
The pearl is a slightly baroque drop shaped natural saltwater pearl of 30.24 carats, set as a detachable drop of a beautiful brooch, which contains an invisible watch by Audemars Piguet, a design from the 1960s.
"We are honored to be able to provide additional scientific evidence to the historic provenance of this important natural pearl. We are in the process of further developing radiocarbon analysis and other scientific techniques to verify the historic provenance of antique jewelry and iconic natural pearls," Dr. Michael S. Krzemnicki, SSEF director, said.