The Abernethy Pearl is expected to fetch between £40,000 and £60,000 when it goes under the hammer on Wednesday August 21. ... before the pearl fishing ban was introduced in Scotland in 1998.

Despite a ban on pearl fishing or buying and selling Scottish pearls since 1998, poachers still stealthily try their luck. There's a more daunting adversary, though: ...

It is said that only one pearl is found in 100 oysters, and only i per cent, of the pearls found are of any commercial value. Thus some 10,000 of the precious molluscs are sacrificed for every ...