Sadly, the most legendary of all pearls, la Peregrina (“the Wanderer”), owned variously by “Bloody” Mary I, several Spanish queens, Napoleon III and Elizabeth Taylor, will not be appearing in the exhibition. During its chequered career this pendulous pearl, an inch and a half in length, has been lost down the back of a sofa and nearly eaten by one of Taylor’s puppies.Many were bought at auction, in antique jewellery that has been disassembled, the pearls regraded to adorn new pieces. There are pearls here that once formed part of the French crown jewels