Rare precious pearl sells for a world record of £811,000!!

A rare pearl worn as one of a pair of earrings for years has just sold at auction for a world record £811,000!!

It was worn as jewellery by a lady who had absolutely no idea how much it was worth and two large round pearls made up the earrings that had been given to her as a gift by her husband.







The Mother of pearls: Jewellery expert Marielle Whiting examines the largest natural round pearl in the world, which was discovered after an unsuspecting punter took an old pair of earrings into Wooley and Wallis auctioneers in Salisbury, Wilts - it sold at auction for £811,000

He later showed them to experts who identified one of the gems as a natural pearl.

The other was a more common cultured pearl that would have been produced by an oyster farmer in controlled conditions and was not valuable.

The natural pearl had a diameter of 17.4mm and is the largest of its kind to have ever come up for auction.


Experts from Woolley and Wallis Auctioneers of Salisbury, Wilts, gave it a pre-sale estimate of £120,000.




Rare precious pearl sells for a world record of £811,000






Astonishing discovery: Sharp-eyed expert Johnathan Edwards realised that what was thought to be a relatively valueless cultured pearl may actually be an enormous natural one, and immediately sent it off to boffins in Switzerland to have it analysed







Expert advice: The experts in Switzerland confirmed that the 33.14ct natural gem is the largest round pearl ever to be offered at auction and would have taken around 100 years to develop in the oysters shell


But competitive bidding drove the hammer price up to £680,000. With all the fees added on, the overall price paid was £811,600 and it was bought by renowned international jewellers David Morris of London's Bond Street.

It will now be made into a necklace for a potential buyer in Hong Kong.

Jonathan Edwards, head of the jewellery department at Woolley and Wallis, said: 'The pearl came in from a private source and was presented as part of a pair of drop earrings.




She had no idea! The rare pearl was worn as one of a pair of earrings for years by an unsuspecting woman whose husband gave them to her as a gift







Stunning: Experts from Woolley and Wallis Auctioneers of Salisbury, Wilts, gave it a pre-sale estimate of £120,000 but they couldn't believe it when the final agreed price amassed to nearly £1m







Limited edition: The pearl is going to be made into a necklace as part of a collection of pearl jewellery for a potential customer in Hong Kong



'I looked at them and it seemed as though one of them might be a natural pearl, which are worth considerably more than cultured pearls.

'I thought there was a difference between the two because one had an outer layer of about one milimetre thick, but the other seemed to be solid.

'It is very difficult to tell if a pearl is cultured or natural by looking at it and you can never be 100 per cent sure unless you have it X-rayed.

'We had it X-rayed at a London lab and they said it was natural, and we then sent it to a lab in Switzerland who said the same thing.'





Who would have thought it? The 33.14ct round pearl was produced by a gold lip oyster and would have taken around 10 years to develop in the wild, experts say


Phoebe Morris, from David Morris jewellers, added: 'The pearl is going to be made into a necklace as part of a collection of pearl jewellery we have been putting together for some time.

'We have a potential buyer for it in Hong Kong.'

The 33.14ct round pearl was produced by a gold lip oyster - Pinctada maxima in Latin - and would have taken around 10 years to develop in the wild.


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Kerry Washington and Nnamdi Asomugha Welcome Baby Girl!

Kerry Washington is a mom!

 Kerry Washington and her husband Nnamdi Asomugha welcomed a baby girl into the world on April 21, TMZ reports. Her name: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha. Washington reportedly gave birth in Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.


The first-time parents began dating in the summer of 2012, and tied the knot in a very intimate ceremony in Hailey, Idaho back in June 2013.


People magazine was first to report that the "Scandal" star was pregnant in October 2013. "Kerry and Nnamdi are ecstatic," a source told People, but added that "Kerry will still absolutely be keeping her private life private."
And in fact, Washington hadn't spoken about her pregnancy much. She embraced her blossoming belly on the red carpet in a variety of stunning dresses (and even a crop top!), but remained mum about the baby's gender and her feeling about impending parenthood.

 
Congratulations, Kerry and Nnamdi!



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Happy 39th birthday, David Beckham! ...and the things we love about him...

 


Born in Leytonstone, London in 1975, David Beckham has always stated how the only career he ever wanted was to play football.

His parents were huge Manchester United fans and at the age of 16 signed a youth training scheme contract with the club.

David was a member of the ‘Class of ‘92’ who guided the youth team to an FA Youth Cup win, and who would all later go on to all play for the club’s first team and lead them to a unique treble-winning season in 1998-1999.

In 1996 David made his first appearance on the England national squad, and in 2000 he was named England captain, where played the game in that role for six years.

After Manchester United, David played for Real Madrid and Los Angeles Galaxy, before retiring from football in 2013 as one of the world’s most successful football players ever.

He has remained part of the sport and the sporting world in general however, and played a crucial role in helping to secure London as the venue for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Married to fashion designer Victoria Beckham, David has four children and also has a successful career as an underwear model  - Tommy Hilfiger named him the "underwear model of the century" – and has been a UNICEF ambassador since 2005.

THE THINGS WE LOVE ABOUT DAVID BECKHAM...

He was confident brave enough to wear an actual sarong


Absolute/D'Arcangell David wears a sarong

          
He cries like this


Nick Potts/PA Wire David Beckham cries at the end of an England game.


He's the ultimate doting dad


Noel Vasquez/Getty Images David Beckham plays with his daughter Harper Beckham.



David Beckham tweets a picture of himself with baby Harper Seven Beckham.




How many people do you know who got this haircut after Beck's debuted it?


DAVE PINEGAR / REX FEATURES David Beckham's hairstyles.



And how many of your mates DIDN'T get this style? But Becks still managed to make it look sexy


REX FEATURES David Beckham's hairstyles.

       
OMG! See that jaw!


Rui Vieira/PA Wire
The David Beckham pout

           


A young David Beckham



He's modest

Talking about stripping off for raunchy advertising campaigns, Becks said: “It’s definitely got easier over the years,” he admits. “But when I was in New York, seeing a huge poster on the side of a building was quite daunting.

"I remember driving past there and stopping and running out and taking a picture and this guy walked past me and he was like, ‘Oh, my God! Have you seen your d*** up there?’

“Or something disgusting like that. That was funny.”

His smile (we'll ignore the beads and blinging earrings)

Rex Features David Beckham's smile.



The *ahem* bulge

David Beckham models underwear for H&M



He and Victoria wore these matching white outfits


REX FEATURES David Beckham and Victoria out in L.A


And we can't forget this hairdo...


REX FEATURES David Beckhams hairstyles.


He managed to bounce back after getting a public grilling for being sent off for kicking out at Argentina's Diego Simeone
"I knew that I had made a mistake and deserved to be sent off, but nothing could have prepared me for what happened," he said.

"It wasn't just the press, but the reaction of ordinary people. There was am atmosphere whenever I walked into a restaurant or bar. When a guy broke into my back garden late at night to try to intimidate me, it was almost the last straw."

You can rely on him to give you a helping hand

Splash David Beckham helped out a photographer who fell while trying to photograph them.


In 2013 he topped a poll as celebrity dad we most admire

He always makes an effort with Victoria

“You have to find time to spend with each other,” he said.

“As much as we work hard and we love to spend time with our kids and that’s our main priority, we make sure we go out for dinner once a week.”

He ALWAYS look good these days

He's got an eye for the best bling (not those earrings, though)

John Giles/PA Wire Victoria Adams and David Beckham announce their engagement.



He doesn't care if his children don't think he's cool
The proud dad told The Sunday Times magazine he'll drop his kids off right at the school gates, but confesses Brooklyn doesn't always let him.

"The only one we don't walk to the door is Brooklyn. Sometimes, he makes me drop him on the other side of the road. It's not cool to be dropped off by your dad."

He ALWAYS look good (these days)

He's just a normal guy (ish)

What does he love now he's back home in England? "The simple things like going round to my Grandma’s, going round to my Mum and Dad’s house, seeing my sisters - the normal things that I haven’t been able to do since I moved away from London when I was 15 years old.

"It’s been quite a while so it’s the simple things like popping round for a cup of tea."

The frown

He knows how to pull a good pose
David Beckham models for Armani.


He doesn't need to surround himself with superficial friends

He said: "It’s all you need. I’d rather have three really good friends than 20 good friends."

Together with Vic, the Beckham brand earns them around £100,00 a day (y'know, good business sense).



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PHOTOS: Syrian rebels crucified by Islamic extremists (viewers discretion is advised)

The Islamic State in Iraq and the ash-Sham (ISIS), are an Islamic group which was rejected by al Qaeda in early 2014 for being a “liability to the al-Qaeda brand” and too extremist .

The hard-line group said it had executed a total of seven prisoners who it claimed had carried out a grenade attack on one of its fighters earlier this month including the two men crucified on a roundabout.

Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights posted pictures of the two prisoners being crucified at the roundabout.
The dead man body hangs limply from a makeshift crucifix; the black stripe of a blindfold covers his eyes.

Another photo of a different man’s crucifixion shows a similar scene. In that image too, a young boy stands only feet from a lifeless corpse bound to a cross and publicly displayed.
One of the men is pictured with a banner wrapped round his body which reads: "This man fought against Muslims and threw  a grenade in this place."



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Peaches Geldof died of heroin overdose

She reportedly died of a heroin overdose


Peaches Geldof died of a heroin overdose just like her tragic mum Paula Yates, it was reported on Wednesday night.

The claims came as an inquest into the tragic death of the mother-of-two death was due to open on Thursday afternoon.

The model and TV presenter was found dead while caring for her 11-month-old son Phaedra on her own at the family home on April 7.

Her death was described by police as ‘non-suspicious’ and ‘unexplained’ at the time and a post-mortem examination two days later proved inconclusive.

Police investigating the model’s death found no evidence of drugs paraphernalia in the £1million house in Wrotham, Kent.

Officers used sniffer dogs during the search and examined rubbish bags.

However, The Times reported on Wednesday that items may have been removed before the property was searched.

A spokesman for the Geldof family said they were not commenting at this stage.

Peaches-Geldof instagram


It is not known who may have supplied the young mum with drugs.

Hours before she died Peaches posted a photo online of herself with mum Paula Yates, who died of an accidental heroin overdose aged 41 when Peaches was just 11.

Peaches, 25, admitted to experimenting with drugs in the past and was often labelled as a ‘wild child’.

There were reports that she had to be revived after collapsing from an overdose in 2008 at her home in north London.

There was speculation she might have accidentally overdosed because her body was not as tolerant to the quantities of heroin she had previously taken.

Later Peaches transformed from socialite to doting mum after marrying her second husband, 23-year-old musician Tom Cohen, in 2012.

With her beloved hubby and children

Thursday's brief inquest hearing, expected to last just 10 minutes, will be held in Gravesend, Kent.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Fotheringham is due to read a statement about Ms Geldof’s death before coroner Roger Hatch officially reveals her cause of death.

Mr Hatch waited for results of the toxicology tests to determine if Peaches had died of an overdose before deciding to open an inquest.

A full inquest is now due to be held in late July.

Peaches’ funeral was held at the same church as her mother’s with stars including Kate Moss, Jools Holland and Bill Wyman among the mourners.

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