Pearls are some of the most prized gems and jewelry pieces in museums around the world. Their rareness, mystery and symbolism of purity have made them one of the most cherished gifts among the wealthy, so between the jewelry and the mysterious gems from the deep, there is a treasure trove of celebrated pearls. Here are some of them.

The Abernethy Pearl
The Abernethy is the most famous and perhaps most perfect specimen of a Scottish freshwater pearl, weighing 44 grains, which would be about 2200 mm. The pearl was collected by Bill Abernethy, a professional pearl diver, from an “odd-shaped mussel” in River Tay in 1967. Not only was it huge, it also was on incredible quality. The Abernethy Pearl was on display in a store Cairncross, Scotland, for nearly 30 years, but was sold in 1992 for an undisclosed amount. Scots have searched for pearls in the River Tay for hundreds of years, and many rivers in Scotland were home to freshwater pearls until the Industrial Revolution polluted the waterways.

Big Pink Pearl
This pearl was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest known natural abalone pearl. The baroque specimen is 470 carats, or 94,000 mm. It is purportedly owned by a pearl diver in California, and it was last valued in the early 1990s at $4.7 million. It was found at California's Salt Point State Park in 1990.

Eugénie Pearls
The Eugénie pearls are a large jewelry collection that were once part of the extensive French crown jewels. Along with much of the monarchy's jewelry, the pearls were auctioned off in 1887 at the Palace of the Tuileries. Napoleon Bonaparte had purchased many of the pieces for his wives Josephine and Marie Louise.

Gogibus Pearl
This pearl was the largest known specimen in Europe during the early 17th century. It was found off the coast of the West Indies, and the pear-shaped beauty weighed 126 carats, or 25,200 mm. Spain's King Philip IV bought it from a merchant named Gogibus in 1620. The merchant reportedly wore the gem as a button on his cap.

Hope Pearl
Possibly the most famous pearl, and perhaps the largest saltwater specimen in existence, the Hope is a white drop-shaped freshwater blister pearl weighing 90,000 mm or 450 carats. It measures approximately two by four inches in size and ranges in color from white on one end to greenish-gold on the other. The Hope Pearl was first owned by Henry Philip Hope, the man who once owned the Hope Diamond, in the 19th century. You can see it at the British Museum of Natural History.

Huerfana Pearl
The Huerfana, or “Orphan,” pearl was allegedly found not in an oyster but loose in a shell bed in the Gulf of Panama. It was one of the most beautiful treasures in the Spanish crown jewels. The Huerfana was distinguished by its magnificent luster, perfect shape and large size. It is said to have been destroyed when the palace burned in the 18th century.

La Pellegrina Pearl
The La Pellegrina, or "The Incomparable,” pearl weighs 111.5 grains. This perfectly round silver GEM was found off the coast of South America and was once part of the Spanish crown jewels. It was brought to Russia from India in the 18th century, and was known as the Zozima Pearl, named after the Czar's jeweler. It was lost for a while, but resurfaced and was sold by Christie's auction house in 1987 for $463,800.

La Peregrina Pearl
The La Peregrina, of “The Pilgrim” pearl, has a long, colorful history that started in Spain and ended up in Hollywood. The large, pear-shaped white pearl of 203.84 grains was found off the coast of Panama in the mid-16th century and was brought to Spain's King Phillip II, who presented it as a wedding gift to his wife, Queen Mary. It belonged to other members of Spanish royalty, and also to France's Bonapartes. Later it was acquired by the British Marquis of Abercorn from the son of French emperor Napoleon III. At one point it was in the possession of King Henry VIII's daughter, Mary Tudor. It was purchased in 1969 for $37,000 by actor Richard Burton for his wife, Elizabeth Taylor, who owns it today. She nearly lost it forever several years ago. Frantically searching for the misplaced gem, she found it in her dog's mouth.

La Régente Pearl
The La Régente pearl is an oval pearl weighing a hefty 337 grains. Napoleon bought it in 1811 for his second wife, Empress Marie Louise, to be set in her imperial tiara. Along with most of the French crown jewels, it was sold at auction in 1887 to Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé. It was sold by Christie's auction house for $859,100 in 1988.

Mancini Pearls
These two large drop-shaped pearls are set as earrings and were originally owned by the de Medicis, ruling family of Florence. Maria de Medici brought them to France when she married Henry the IV in 1600, and they then went to her daughter, Henrietta Maria, when she married King Charles I of England. Christie's auction house sold the earrings for $333,000 in 1969.

Mary Queen of Scots Pearls
These pearls are one of the earliest known collections. The most famous piece was a six-strand necklace designed as a rosary that consisted of more than 600 pearls. Much of the collection was purchased by Queen Elizabeth I of England, who was an avid pearl lover. Pieces of her original collection were bought from the de Medicis.

Morgan-Tiffany Pearls
This collection, made possible by J. Piermont Morgan and the Tiffany, includes 557 North American freshwater pearls. They, and about 1,500 others in the extensive collection, are now displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Pearl of Allah
The Pearl of Allah is the largest pearl on record. It was recovered from a 160-lb giant claim by a pearl diver in 1934 off Palawan Iland in the Philippines. This gem is 23.8 cm long, and weighs about 14 pounds. It is now called the Pearl of Lao-tze. A Palawan chieftain gave the pearl to Wilbur Dowell Cobb in 1936 as gift for having saved the life of his son. In 1980, Cobb's heirs sold it to a Beverly Hills jeweler for $200,000. It is now estimated by the San Francisco Gem Laboratory to be worth $40 million.

Pearl of Asia
This 2,400 grain, eggplant-shaped pearl hasn't been seen in years. It belonged to the last Chinese empress. Some speculate it is hidden in a Chinese museum or a European bank. It is mounted on a group of golden branches and leaves, decorated with jade and a large pink quartz cabochon.

Queen Pearl
The Queen Pearl is among the first significant pearls found in the United States, creating a pearl rush in New England. The pink gem weighs 93 grains and was discovered in 1857 in Notch Brook, New Jersey. Tiffany bought the Queen Pearl, then probably sold it to Cartier in Europe. It ended up in the collection of Empress Eugénie of France in the mid 1850s. She gave it to an American friend, Thomas Evans, who helped her escape from France during the revolution in 1870. Evans was a Philadelphia dentist who bequeathed his collection of pearls and gems to the Philadelphia Dental School. Some of the items were sold to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York, and although a large pink pearl in its collection isn't identified as the Queen Pearl, experts believe that it probably is the legendary gem.

Roseate Pearl
The fabled Roseate pearl is an Akoya pearl from western Australia. Allegedly several of its died while in possession of the gem, so a curse is linked to it, much like that of the Hope Diamond. The Roseate Pearl's last purported owner, Abraham Davis, died when the Koombana, an Australian ship, went down in a cyclone The ship's wreckage has never been found and the Roseate Pearl was rumored to be on board. It is perfectly round, pink pearl. Some question that it ever existed.

Sara Pearl
This drop-shaped gray pearl weighing 220 grains was found near Isla Margarita off Venezuela. Although its whereabouts today are unknown, it is most likely “Pearl Number 3” illustrated by French author Jean Baptiste Tavernier in Travels in India in the 17th century.

Thiers Pearls
The Thiers pearls were made into a necklace for Madame Thiers, the wife of France's first president. They are now in the Louvre. The necklace is made up of three strands of 145 large, almost perfectly round, graduated natural pearls.

Van Buren Pearls
The Van Buren pearls were strung into a necklace a given as a gift to widowed President Martin Van Buren, who immediately gave them to the U.S. government. They are part of an exhibition of First Ladies' inaugural gowns at the Smithsonian.