![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/RYGEVYZGKREDREPWGTYN2A2NCQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=2a250b8da2046e67abb55c8b314b95a5aa90ea9bad4842e570692f668278ccb7&width=400&height=225)
Princess Margaret photographed by Cecil Beaton for her 19th birthday in 1949 in a white tulle Norman Hartnell dress, a five-strand pearl necklace and a cultured pearl bracelet by Mikimoto. Photo: Christie's / Bridgeman Images / Penguin Random House
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Jordan's Queen Rania wearing a pearl covered Elie Saab dress during the dinner banquet on the wedding day of Crown Prince Al Hussein and Princess Rajwa Al Hussein in Amman in June 2023. Photo: Office of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah
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Queen Rania wearing a peal necklace at the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier during a visit to Westminster Abbey in London in 1999. Getty Images
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American film icon Grace Kelly wears a pearl necklace in 1955. Getty Images
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Audrey Hepburn on the set of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Getty Images
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US first lady Jacqueline Kennedy wearing a pearl necklace in the White House in 1962. Getty Images
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Actress Marilyn Monroe poses for a portrait in a pearl necklace in 1953. Getty Images
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Britain's Queen Elizabeth II attends a Windsor polo match wearing a three-strand pearl necklace in 1958. Getty Images
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Queen Elizabeth with a three strand pearl necklace in 2015. Getty Images
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Britain's Catherine Princess of Wales wearing a pearl earring at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth in 2022. Getty Images
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Princess Diana with pearl earrings and a pearl necklace in 1985. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/RYGEVYZGKREDREPWGTYN2A2NCQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=2a250b8da2046e67abb55c8b314b95a5aa90ea9bad4842e570692f668278ccb7&width=400&height=225)
Princess Margaret photographed by Cecil Beaton for her 19th birthday in 1949 in a white tulle Norman Hartnell dress, a five-strand pearl necklace and a cultured pearl bracelet by Mikimoto. Photo: Christie's / Bridgeman Images / Penguin Random House
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/MK3AU5NI3JH5NCO7W75O2DX5LY.jpg?smart=true&auth=350fde76e9519c1a0867a4b873409746c5f6d58f7dda82b8750ad56230f3a989&width=400&height=225)
Jordan's Queen Rania wearing a pearl covered Elie Saab dress during the dinner banquet on the wedding day of Crown Prince Al Hussein and Princess Rajwa Al Hussein in Amman in June 2023. Photo: Office of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/WY62CIOSBRE4XJSS6MSL22RF4E.jpg?smart=true&auth=efe85bf0d4984993bba831373ff91c61576611d8cb6b0ed4f43966a48e469b28&width=400&height=225)
Queen Rania wearing a peal necklace at the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier during a visit to Westminster Abbey in London in 1999. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/7IMUD3PP2FCCTAJNVZ3R3D4574.jpg?smart=true&auth=dbe50bafc3d3bf375c1a2e71f6949b3a297ef8a565f5eb54697a022d3a065ae0&width=400&height=225)
American film icon Grace Kelly wears a pearl necklace in 1955. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/RRQBLBQ4JVFH3ETNP2BIYGSWHU.jpg?smart=true&auth=d4be2e46ea70ae74a05f48c15f00bf7fb06b838166e093ee7a37a7fc8a1579b6&width=400&height=225)
Audrey Hepburn on the set of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/75JI33JPN5BSJODVBV23SHKEWI.jpg?smart=true&auth=aa2ea5a829b86c1393949824947d0cea0a06630e2d7fc0fb0793d876bf33adf6&width=400&height=225)
US first lady Jacqueline Kennedy wearing a pearl necklace in the White House in 1962. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/NXMLBNXX4RFMPH3SFLP45KRAKA.jpg?smart=true&auth=8a1e7813dc93e69fe6b499304f907ec8c0af150d7fe929455cf303e3a51c89fc&width=400&height=225)
Actress Marilyn Monroe poses for a portrait in a pearl necklace in 1953. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/E4EOF4KCX5DRTHIOWIDYRB2ZLI.jpg?smart=true&auth=7f34900279a850ad8200e32c9047bdfa95835b775ee8e1e863c4330faf67d2e3&width=400&height=225)
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II attends a Windsor polo match wearing a three-strand pearl necklace in 1958. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/HE2X4WPXRVBAJJ7VWWQORXLDM4.jpg?smart=true&auth=2f7d329d9f5756526380089b4939a03c90ead61dee52dc051f7c79e45eb6b682&width=400&height=225)
Queen Elizabeth with a three strand pearl necklace in 2015. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/IUJGE3QYENGP3BKTCVKKWLZTXM.jpg?smart=true&auth=a1521b921b791c40c7a047aff7a5b8f920942c7143833a88447308c441e00199&width=400&height=225)
Britain's Catherine Princess of Wales wearing a pearl earring at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth in 2022. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/AFBJOH2PTFBSPFG6UX34WRMNWM.jpg?smart=true&auth=96e771b51bd37445a506a21236dc7542a49fc9eb9af050fc4e28b3bcb6162467&width=400&height=225)
Princess Diana with pearl earrings and a pearl necklace in 1985. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/RYGEVYZGKREDREPWGTYN2A2NCQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=2a250b8da2046e67abb55c8b314b95a5aa90ea9bad4842e570692f668278ccb7&width=400&height=225)
Princess Margaret photographed by Cecil Beaton for her 19th birthday in 1949 in a white tulle Norman Hartnell dress, a five-strand pearl necklace and a cultured pearl bracelet by Mikimoto. Photo: Christie's / Bridgeman Images / Penguin Random House
Pearl pride: UAE's national treasure is the 'Queen of Gems and Gem of Queens'
As a new book by the senior jeweller curator of the V&A explains, pearls are not a mineral but an organic material that came fully formed from the oceans as the earliest precious gem
Helen Molesworth
28 May, 2024
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