La Peregrina is one of the most famous pearls in the world. Once owned by several Spanish monarchs, its history spans almost 500 years and recently belonged to actress Elizabeth Taylor. The jewel is now in private ownership. Origin of name La Peregrina is a Spanish word. It means "the Pilgrim-woman" or female "Wanderer". Physical characteristics The original weight of this pear-shaped pearl was 223.8 grains, (55.95 carats, 11.2 g, almost .4 oz.). At the time of its discovery, it was the largest pearl ever found. In 1913 the pearl had to be drilled and cleaned to secure it firmly to its setting. After drilling and cleaning, the pearl's weight decreased to 203.84 grains. La Peregrina remains one of the largest perfectly symmetrical pear-shaped pearls in the world. History The first reference to this pearl can be found in 'Commentarios Reales de Los Incas''' by historian Garcilaso de la Vega (1539-1616). He tells of an exceptional pear-shaped pearl, which was brought back to Spain from Panama. It was found by an African slave in the Pearl islands in 1513 and was turned over to Don Pedro de Temez, who was the administrator of Panama at the time. Temez later gifted the pearl to King Philip II of Spain (1527-1598), who in turn presented it as a gift to his bride, Queen Mary I of England in 1554. Later, in his testament, King Philip elevated the pearl to the rank of a Spanish Crown Jewel, and from then on it is recorded in every royal inventory for more than 200 years. It became one of the favorite ornaments for the Spanish queens of that time. Margaret of Austria wore the pearl for the celebration of the peace treaty between Spain and England in 1605. Portraits made by Diego Velázquez are evidence that the pearl was prized by both Elisabeth of France and Mariana of Austria. The equestrian portrait of Queen Elisabeth shows her wearing the pearl. Queen Mariana, her successor, was painted with the pearl as well. In his biography of Louis XIV, Michel de Grèce claims that King Philip IV of Spain wore what later became known as La Peregrina in his hat at the proxy wedding of his daughter Maria Theresa of Spain to Louis at Fontarrabie in June 1660. However, this appears to have been a different pearl, later called La Pelegrina. In 1808 the elder brother of