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Largest natural pearl on market awaits sale in Abu Dhabi bank

No date has been set for a new auction of the gem - known as Arco Valley Pearl - after a death in the royal Emirates family postponed a previously scheduled auction last week.

The pearl’s owners, who remain anonymous, remain committed to selling the 575-carat treasure. The giant pearl is expected to raise up to US$8 million (euro6 million) in bidding.

Dubai-based auctioneer Paul Fletcher said the pearl has been stored in a safety deposit box in an Abu Dhabi bank since the auction of the 800-year-old saltwater pearl was cancelled last Thursday.

Bidders are still deeply interested in the mysterious pearl, with potential buyers from the Gulf, China, America, India and Britain expected to compete for its ownership.

The cancellation, Fletcher said, has only “added to the pearl’s allure and raised the anticipation worldwide.”

The pearl’s next owner will join a long string of illustrious proprietors who have included Chinese emperors, Persian kings, the grandson of Genghis Khan and the Venetian adventurer Marco Polo.

Fletcher said the owners, who commissioned his auction house with the sale two months ago, are waiting for the authorities to reschedule the auction. “It will be sold, unless I am instructed otherwise,” he said.

Auction proceeds are supposed to help rehabilitate the pearl trade in Abu Dhabi and the Gulf region, where a century ago most people lived of treasures hidden in the oyster beds of the deep sea.

Although the biggest on sale, the Arco Valley pearl is not the largest in size, a title that belongs to the 9.45 inch (24 centimeter) Pearl of Allah, reported to be housed in a Colorado bank.

• UAE