Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

A conch pearl ring, the oval pink natural conch pearl in plain yellow gold ring mount, shank stamped ‘18ct’ and bearing maker’s mark ‘C&S’, ring size Q. £300-£400

Produced naturally by the Queen conch mollusc Strombus gigas, conch pearls are very rare. Harvested by teams of conch fisherman, a single pearl is found in every 10-15,000 shells, although less than 10% of these are gem quality. Unlike traditional oyster pearls, conch pearls are not made of nacre, meaning they don’t share the same iridescent lustre; instead they exhibits an attractive flame-like pattern across its surface.