A pearl's historic journey from Napoleon to Taylor.
A 55 carat, tear drop pearl - La Peregrina - was discovered in the 1500s by an African slave at the Pearl Islands in the Gulf of Panama and became part of the Crown Jewels of Spain in the time of King Phillip II. Passed to Phillip III it was handed down through the generations until 1808 when Emperor Napoleon named his brother Jose the King of Spain.
With the Crown Jewels in his hands, Jose gifted the pearl to his wife, Julie Clary. When the marriage dissolved the gem was taken to the United States by Napoleon and later bequeathed to Napoleon III, ruler of the second French empire. Upon his deposition and arrest, he sold the pearl in England to James Hamilton, later the Duke of Abercorn ... until 1914,
... tumbling forward to 1969 when Richard Burton purchased La Peregrina at auction for his wife of five years, Elizabeth Taylor - outbidding an envoy of the Spanish Royal family sent to recover the jewel.
more adventure tales when Taylor pet ate La Peregrina
http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/liz_pet_ate_precious_pearl_VTKn0nCN1vAuhMDnMGbv9H
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