AP News, May 3rd, 2007
A death in the Emirates royal family postponed the auction of the largest pearl on the world market, just hours before the bidding was to start Thursday.
According to the organizers of the auction, the news that Sheik Saeed Bin Nahyan Bin Mubarak al Nahyan _ son of the Emirates' education and science minister Sheik Nahyan bin Mubarak al Nahyan _ had died in a car crash on Tuesday led to the postponement.
No new date was set, said Paul Fletcher, manager of the Dubai-based Lifestyle Auctions. The 800-year-old pearl, whose illustrious owners included Chinese emperors, Persian kings, the grandson of Genghis Khan, and the famous Venetian adventurer Marco Polo, was expected to fetch up to $8 million.
The 575-carat, 3.1 inch natural saltwater pearl known as the Arco Valley Pearl was brought to Abu Dhabi less than two months ago by Khaled al-Sayegh, a jeweler and chairman of the auction's organizing committee. He said the pearl was privately owned but declined to reveal the owner's name.
Auction proceeds were 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 sea.
"The organizers felt it was not appropriate to celebrate a revival of the pearl trade at the time of mourning in the royal family and in the Emirates," Fletcher said.
Named after a previous owner from Austria's Arco Valley family dynasty, the pearl up for auction is white with a touch of blue, with pink and cream on its sides. It has been drilled three times: to fit among the jewels of an unknown woman's tiara, to go with a ceremonial mandarin suit and to fit a crown or turban decorated with precious stones belonging to a Persian king.
It has since been restored to its original shape.
Court documents prove the pearl was owned by Kublai Khan, the 13th century emperor of China and grandson of Genghis Khan. Experts believe Kublai Khan gave the pearl to Marco Polo as a gift.
Arco Valley is only the biggest pearl up for sale in the world.
The 9.45-inch Pearl of Allah is the world's largest. It was found by a diver off the Philippine island of Palawan in 1934 and is stored in a museum in that country.
