Fashion Trend! Coloured Pearls and How to Buy Pearls

Hallo everyone!

My apologies! I was not expecting to get so busy at the store! Wow! It’s been crazy; especially because of the Black Friday/ Precious Gift Limited Edition Charm for Pandora.  However, I am back and hopefully I will be able to update this and my recipe blog more often.  I got a fancy new smart phone and have set a weekly alarm to update on here once a week. Let’s see if that will kick my butt in gear.

Today I will be talking about a newish fashion trend.  Honestly, I wasn’t sure if this was going to catch on or not, but apparently it did.  I am pretty happy it too. Today I will be talking about coloured pearls! They are really pretty and a good spin on an old classic. Also, I will be giving you some important information on buying pearls! This will help you when you go into your local jewelry store to buy.

First things first, as a person in the jewelry business will give you some helpful tips on buying pearls. The first thing you need to know is that there are different types of pearls. The four major groups are: Freshwater, Saltwater, Cultured, and Faux.

·         Freshwater pearls are quite a bit cheaper, but are genuine pearls. They are made inside of freshwater dwelling mollusks usually found in lakes and rivers. River pearls, for example, are a type of freshwater pearl.

·         Saltwater pearls are quite a bit rarer and are fairly expensive if you are buying a good quality set. They are usually found by pearl divers in what are called “pearl oysters” Sometimes, if you are lucky, you might find a pearl inside of your oyster at a restaurant or in the cans of oysters at the store that was missed.

·         The last of the genuine pearls is what is called a cultured pearl. These are the most common type of pearl sold in the United States. They are inexpensive when it comes to real pearls and can be dyed numerous colours, that isn’t to say that other natural pearls cannot be coloured or cannot be naturally coloured. I will discuss coloured pearls here in a moment I promise!  Cultured pearls are created by putting a piece of what is called “donor oyster” inside of the mollusk to grow. They look like other pearls, but are not fake!

·         Faux pearls are the cheapest pearl that you can buy. They are not real pearls and can be made of numerous materials. The most common ones are made of glass or plastic with an opaque “pearl” coating. Some can look incredibly real. That is where people often get taken advantage of at non-jewelry stores. They look real and if you do not know what you are looking at you may end up paying genuine pearl price for plastic beads.

Next you need to know about pearl shapes. Their seven basic pearl shapes. These are Round, Oval, Circlé, Button, Baroque, Biwa, and Mabé.

·         Round pearls are just what it says they are. They are round and are the most desirable shape. They can be fairly rare. However, they are not as rare as an internally flawless and completely colourless diamond. Typically the only place to buy round pearls is at a jewelry store. These pearls come with knots between each pearl.

·         Oval pearls are more oval shape than round. Most non-jewelry stores sell these. You can find them at jewelry departments at retail stores. These pearls will come with knots between the pearls.

·         Circlé come in several shapes, but they all share a common feature. All Circlé pearls have rings on their surface.  They are fairly uncommon and usually used for pendants and earrings. Circlé pearls will be knotted between each one.

·         Button pearls are similar to a round pearl when viewed from the front and this is how they are set. When you look at them from the side they are more oval. You can buy these at retail stores where they are sold as “round” pearls. These are usually used in earrings or rings. If used as a bracelet or necklace they will be knotted.

·         Baroque and Biwa pearls can both be classified irregular pearls. No two of these pearls are shaped the same.  The difference between these two shapes is that Baroque pearls are usually larger than Biwa pearls. Also, Biwa pearls are named so because they come from Lake Biwa in Japan.  These pearls may or may not be knotted between each pearl.

·         Mabé pearls are formed on the inside of the shell rather than inside the oyster “meat”.  They are basically half rounds. When they are removed from the oyster shell they affix a mother of pearl backing on them. These are used in rings and earrings. They are not suitable for stringing. The only time you find them in a bracelet or necklace they will be set in a Mabé mounting.

There are numerous other things that will have an effect on the price of the pearl. However, those are mostly used for jewelers when they are pricing them. These include the Complexion, Size, and Luster of the pearl. If you are curious about them you can ask your local jeweler in relation to the pearls you are interested in.

Now we come to the fun part! Coloured pearls! Pearls come in all colours and not just white. I had a friend that when she got married she wanted orange pearls and had a hell of a time finding them. Thankfully, the store I work at was able to find just the shade of orange she was looking for. Currently my store has cranberry, brown, black, peacock, lavender, white, and cream pearls in stock. My personal favorite is the cranberry which is a pinkish red. The coloured pearls are graded differently than the white and cream pearls. They come in all sizes and shapes. 

This is a picture of "loose pearls". This means that they have not been strung into a proper necklace or put in a propper setting. This picture shows the orange pearls that I was talking about earlier. There are also strands of pale pink, white, and cream.

If you are looking for something that will match most everything you wear then white, cream, or black would be the way to go. However, if you are looking for a fun fashion statement to match your favorite dress then coloured pearls would be the way to go. Also, if you are looking for something to add a bit of colour to your LBD or LWD then coloured pearls are perfect for this!

Something to keep in mind with coloured pearls, and all coloured gems really, is that certain colours do not look good with certain skin tones. It is the same way with make-up. I do not look good wearing brown pearls for example. However, I do look okay with the cranberry pearls. It all depends on skin tone.

Coloured pearls are fun and are in fashion right now! As are coloured diamonds! Just go into your local jewelry store and check out the different colours of pearls they have. They may not have them in stock that day, but more often than not they have the ability to order them in for you in whatever length you need.

When it comes to length there are some things you should know. Rather than saying you want a 16 inch pearl strand, each of the standard lengths has a special name that it goes by. They are as follows.

·         10 inch to 13 inch necklaces are called a collar length. These are commonly made up of several strands rather than one strand. They also do not hang down at all.

·         14 inch to 16 inch necklaces are called pearl chokers. They hang right at the base of the neck.

·         17 inch to 19 inch necklaces are called a princess length necklace. These are the most popular strands. They are not too long and they are not too short.  Also, they go with pretty much anything from scoop neck dresses and blouses to plunge neck dresses and blouses.

·         20 inches to 24 inches are called matinee length strands. These look good with a lower cut dress or blouse.  

·         28 inches to 35 inches are referred to as opera length necklaces. These were traditionally the length that one would where when going to the opera when doing so was considered a special occasion.  However, today they are worn with a variety of dresses and blouses. These look particularly cute with turtle neck dresses because they stand out and add depth to your dress.

·         45 inches and longer are called a pearl rope. These typically do not have a clasp of any kind, but rather go over the head and longer strands may be wrapped around several times.

Hope this helps you when you go out to buy your pearls! Pearls are classic and no girl should go without at least one strand of pearls!

Stay lovely and happy!