Elizabeth

 For most of us, jewelry is just jewelry. It's an accessory or two, three or six that we put on our outfits. Some jewelry is more that an accessory. Some pieces are infused with history and value all their own. They're considered a status symbol like owning the crown or purchasing an exclusive island. One of these pieces is the "La Peregrina" pearl. It's possibly the most famous pearl on the planet, and it was last auctioned for record-breaking $11.8 million in 2011. Part of that hefty sale price might have had to do with the pearl's most recent owner who was an Oscar-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor. However, La Peregrina was famous before it became the possession of one of America's most famous personalities The fascinating story of the pearl just makes the way it came into the hands of Elizabeth Taylor even more dramatic.The pearl that would become known as "La Peregrina," meaning "the Wanderer" or "the Pilgrim," was found by an indentured African who was forced to work on the coast of the isle of Santa Margarita in the Gulf of Panama at around the 16th century.