Among the most famous and most cherished items was La Peregrina, Spanish for “The Wanderer”, the historic baroque pearl discovered in the 16th century; one of the largest and most perfectly symmetrical drop-shaped pearls in the world, weighing an astonishing 203.84 grains.

La Peregrina was presented to Mrs. Taylor as a Valentine’s Day gift by her former husband, Richard Burton. Richard Burton absolutely lavished Elizabeth with jewels and gifts, his love for her was so great that he once said, “I cannot see life without Elizabeth. She is my everything- my breath, my blood, my mind and my imagination.”

The extraordinary pearl has made an incredible journey, beginning with it’s discovery off the coast of Panamanian in 1513, where it was immediately sent to King Ferdinand of Spain to become a part of the Spanish Crown Jewels. The pearl has since belonged to English, French and Spanish aristocracy over the centuries, finally landing in the hands of the Bonaparte family, and passed onto the Duke of Abercorn and his family, where it remained for over a century.