In a First, Radiocarbon Age-Dating Is Used on Ana Maria Pearl

[PinkDiamond]

I can't let a first for the industry go by without sharing it with you, and I'll save the second photo of it for you to see at the link, so I'm cutting this off just below the pic of it attached to the brooch. Way cool.

In a First, Radiocarbon Age-Dating Is Used on Ana Maria Pearl
May 8, 2019 by Rob Bates



"In what is being described as a first, Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF used radiocarbon age-dating to pinpoint the provenance of the historic Ana Maria Pearl (pictured), which will be auctioned at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale on May 15 in Geneva.

SSEF’s carbon-14 analysis revealed that the 30.24 ct. natural saltwater pearl was formed sometime between the 16th and 17th centuries. This fits in with the available historic information about the pearl, which was generally presumed to have been discovered during the Spanish conquest of the Americas in the 16th century.

“This is a first for a historic natural pearl offered at auction,” said Jean-Marc Lunel, senior jewelry expert at Christie’s Geneva, in a statement. “The scientific innovation provided through radiocarbon age-dating is a critical addition to the extensive work we do on documenting the provenance of exceptional items such as the Ana Maria Pearl.”

In the same statement, SSEF director Michael S. Krzemnicki said, “We are in the process of further developing radiocarbon analysis and other scientific techniques to verify the historic provenance of antique jewelry and iconic natural pearls.”

The SSEF testing was done in conjunction with the Ion Beam Physics laboratory at leading university ETH Zurich.

The pearl is believed to have been owned by Ana María de Sevilla y Villanueva, XIV marchioness of Camarasa. It was believed to be a gift from King Charles V of Spain to her noble family, which owned it for generations.

The pearl is set as a detachable ... "
https://www.jckonline.com/editorial-art ... -334329457

[rocks2dust]

That's very interesting. I wish it had gone into more detail, however. I know that in carbon-dating archaeological remains, care has to be taken against sample contamination. For instance, in dating a tooth, they want the tooth whole and without any breaks (to avoid more recent material getting inside where they take the sample). They also take a sample from inside, as far away from the surface as possible. As I'm assuming that they could only take samples from drilled pearls, it raised the question in my mind as to how they avoid contamination? Do they need to re-drill to get an uncontaminated sample? Love the pearl with the emerald brooch!