Freshwater pearl rakes in more than £93,000 at auction

The largest Scottish freshwater pearl found in living memory has been sold at auction for over £93,000, nearly six decades after its discovery.

The Abernethy Pearl was expected to fetch between £40,000 and £60,000 when it went under the hammer on Wednesday, but instead raked in an impressive £93,951 from the now-owner of the pearl.

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.

During the 1970s, award-winning wildlife cameraman Doug Allan worked with Mr Abernethy as a pearl diver.

In an obituary, Mr Allan noted his friend was able to discern from the size and shape of the mussel if it contained a pearl.

This enabled him to pick carefully and leave other mussels undisturbed.

He said: “Mr Abernethy was a unique man and it was a privilege to have known him.

“I recall watching Mr Abernethy fishing with his glass and stick and then he gave me a go.

“It didn’t take long to appreciate just how much hard graft it was.

“Mr Abernethy, of course, made it look effortless. Which it wasn’t.

“He’d be there, bent over the glass, peering down at the river bed, picking out the small lips of the shells that were buried in the sand.

“I loved learning something of the old craft from Mr Abernethy.

“The old words that only the real pearl fishers would use.

“We’d walk sometimes for miles over the fields until we reached ‘the spot’.

“He’d point out the specific part of the river that he knew would be best for pearls.”