Rare $3.8M pearls up for sale in Dallas

DALLAS - This is not your grandma’s strand of pearls. And with a price tag of $3.8 million, “Once in a Blue Moon” is an appropriate name for the collection.

Fourth generation jewelry designer Margot McKinney showed off the exquisite necklace and earrings Wednesday morning on Good Day FOX 4. She brought her own security guard with her to the studio.

The pearls are actually believed to be the rarest strand of pearls in the world. All 26 are perfectly round, between 18 and 21 millimeters and were produced in Australian waters.

“It’s taken 15 years to collect these pearls. They’re an extraordinary size,” McKinney said. “Probably never again in my lifetime will we be able to put together this strand of pearls. They come from oysters that are the size of dinner plates that grow in one of the remotest places on the planet.”

“When you think that pearls are the only gems that come from a living organism, they’re just amazing,” she added.

McKinney decided to call the collection “Once in a Blue Moon” because it truly is a strand of pearls that could only be put together once.

“And then when I as a happy coincidence found these three matching incredible tanzanites it just seemed that ‘Once in a Blue Moon’ was the right name,” she said.

When asked if it was heavy to wear, she smiled and said “it’s no burden.”

“They are truly perfection. There is not a mark on these pearls. The luster is perfect. The size again is extraordinary. So it’s really a once-in-a-lifetime family heirloom treasure,” she said.

McKinney is in town attending the Crystal Charity Ball Neiman Marcus Fashion Parade in Dallas. She’ll be showing off the jewelry, which is for sale.

For more information, visit www.margotmckinney.com/once-in-a-blue-moon.