Kublai Khan pearl could fetch $8m at auction

THE world’s largest natural pearl on the market was expected to fetch up to $8 million when it went on auction at Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace last night.

More than three inches long, the Arco Valley Pearl has been passed down for 800 years, from Chinese emperors to Marco Polo. The name of its current owner is a secret. But yesterday, hundreds of people got the chance to buy it in Abu Dhabi and on the internet.

The 575-carat pearl from 12th-century Mongolia once belonged to Chinese emperors, Persian kings, the grandson of Genghis Khan and Marco Polo.