In Dubai where Christie's annual spring jewellery auction has kicked off.

With close to 100 lots and items including gem rings, earrings and diamond necklaces, the auction is expected to fetch up to six and a half million US dollars. And it includes one of world's largest pearls.

Amongst the diamonds and gems on display sits a pearl, one of the largest in the world.

The pearl in a silver and grey shade comes in at almost 60 carats. It's due to go under the hammer late on Wednesday, for an estimated quarter of a million dollars.

David Warren, Christie's Head of Middle East Jewellery Department, said, "You need to have a large size, it needs to be a good shape, it has to have a nice luster, good color and a good skin. In this particular case, the pearl has most of those things."

This is not the first time Christie's has sold pearls in the port city of Dubai, as pearl hunting has been a major source of income for a century here.

Sales at Christie's art auction on Tuesday totaled nearly eight million US dollars, and on Wednesday around 90 pieces of jewellery will be auctioned at an estimated total figure of five to six million US dollars.