Freshwater pearl expected to fetch up to £60,000 at auction
The Abernethy Pearl was discovered by William Abernethy in 1967.
The largest Scottish freshwater pearl found in living memory is being auctioned, nearly six decades after its discovery.
The Abernethy Pearl is expected to fetch between £40,000 and £60,000 when it goes under the hammer on Wednesday August 21.
The pearl was discovered by William (Bill) Abernethy, who was credited as Scotland’s last dedicated pearl fisherman.
He found it in 1967, before the pearl fishing ban was introduced in Scotland in 1998.
Weighing 43.6 grains, it is the largest freshwater pearl found in Scotland in modern history, although it is smaller than the Kellie Pearl which was discovered in the 1540s and is set in the Scottish Crown.
Mr Abernethy, who died in 2021 aged 96, never disclosed exactly where in Scotland he made the rare find.
It is thought only one in every 5,000 mussels found in Scottish rivers contains a pearl, and generally they are smaller than their saltwater counterparts.
