K8 Jewelry

PEARLS - I THINK I LOVE YOU

When you hear the word “pearls”, what pops into your mind? Sweet sixteen, white weddings, your nana’s doilies? Or maybe you’re like me and think of Audrey Hepburn gazing into the widows of Tiffany’s.

Funny, those pearls, though. They seem to sit in your jewelry box, forgotten and ignored until you have an event that’s a little fancy, formal even. Or that’s the way I thought – or didn’t think – about pearls until…

I was at a big meeting last week at a beautiful lakeside inn, working closely with a woman who had these gorgeous steely blue baubles on her ears and around her neck. Couldn’t take my eyes off them. What were they?

Tahitian pearls
Big, beautiful and definitely very “fashion”. Daytime and super fancy evening all rolled into one.

Tahitian pearls are stunning, "naturally" occurring in peacock, aubergine, pistachio, steel and gold tones – and they are rather coveted. They also come in different shapes and sizes that inspire very contemporary designs. By the way, the ridges in the circle pearls are a fluke of nature. Cool, don’t you think?

Buyer beware: cheap pearls are often dyed. So if the price is too good to be true, they may be treated to look like the beauties of the South Pacific. Just so you know.

What about pearly-coloured pearls?

Did you know that cultivated freshwater pearls from China are now – get this – round? Almost perfect little spheres. Thanks to new techniques, they’re a far cry from the wonky little rice-shaped pearls that were at every mall jewelry counter in the 80s and 90s (and in every Christmas stocking and Valentine’s box and graduation gift…)

How do they compare to the Japanese saltwater pearls, aka Akoya pearls (in left photo)? Japanese pearls are really lustrous, with so much more depth and magic than the round Chinese freshwaters. You have to compare the 2 with your own eyes. You'll see what I mean right away. Of course, there’s a pretty big price difference to go with all that extra luster. 

And the dearest of them all? 

South Sea Pearls (in right photo). These are the rarest in the world and therefore the most expensive. Where the Akoya pearl reflects like a mirror, the South Sea pearl has a satiny glow that seems to emanate from within.


Real VS Faux - the "tooth test"

There are a number of ways to check if pearls are real. The easiest and most common for the average shopper is indeed the "tooth test". Rub them lightly on your pearly whites (sorry, couldn’t resist the bad joke) and, if they feel gritty and sandy, they’re real. Smooth and glassy, they’re fake. When in doubt, talk to a pearl expert. Or you could go to Pearl School. (Photo: Salvador Dali brooch, 1949)

Channel your inner Aurdey

I personally haven’t been that into pearls - until lately. (I think I’ve always been too moody for them.) But all this talk is winning me over. Now, I totally "get" pearls and why women all over the world have such a love affair with them. They are beautiful, warm and happy, and bring out the inner Audrey in all us girls. They make you feel like such a lady, and a fair one at that.