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Moreover, while they are easily damaged by creams, perfume or hairspray, pearls actually benefit from being regularly worn, as your skin’s natural oils enhance their iridescence. The visual purity of white of pearls allows for broad artistic license, and they can pack a large punch, allowing designers to create striking and imposing designs without the same price tag as cut and polished gemstones. What then, should we be looking for when choosing pearl jewellery that feels contemporary but not ephemeral? 'You want pearls that have that undeniable glow to them and light up your skin,' explains Lucy Crowther, founder of Minka, who suspended Keshi pearls in lustrous mermaid shades from sleek white gold bars. The reincarnation of pearls is seemingly everywhere, from white orbs set into carbon fibre by Fabio Salini, or combined with black diamonds set on the reverse by Ara Vartanian, creating perfectly prickly drops from which pearls tumble like fruit from brambles. 3-25mm Assorted Freshwater Pearls, Mix Pearls with Different Sizes, Colors and Shapes Imperfection PB669 BaroPearl (631) 13.99 AAA 4-4.5mm Tiny white nugget freshwater pearls,irregular nugget freshwater pearl strand,LM4-3A-4 WenPearls (52,419) 6.
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One pair of glossy emerald earrings, with McCormack’s signature blackened gold Georgian setting, were set perfectly wonky, with gleaming pearl drops suspended from their corners. During the Spring/Summer 2021 show season, magpie editors were delighted by a collaboration between designers Jessica McCormack and Emilia Wickstead, which relaunched pearls as a contemporary cult jewel. Bulgari’s Rocking Tanzanite necklace features a satisfyingly chunky chain with onyx inserts and pearl accents, each cream drop set with a tiny gold stud. Other brands are combining traditional pearls with unexpected materials to create a contemporary clash. 'I nearly always use oversized, misshapen Baroque pearls, their asymmetry keeps them contemporary,' explains jeweller Jessie Thomas, who has set heady green tourmalines above the alabaster pale of baroque pearls in one earring design. Keshi pearls are a by-product of the pearl industry, forming naturally in oysters when round pearls are cultivated, and baroque pearls have a similarly irregular silhouette. Some designers are subverting classic designs by shunning the traditional round and globular kind all together, selecting their alternative and unusual cousins, Keshi and Baroque pearls instead. The uniform string of pearls your grandma cherished is being sliced, studded and dunked into molten gold, morphing into an edgier, sassier alter-ego. A favourite of the Royal Family, bridled by their ‘twinset and pearls’ connotations, they have never been, well. They became an emblem for prosperity and wealth, and even after cultured pearls became commonplace during the early 1900s, they retained their reputation as a jewel belonging to the elite. In Ancient Egypt and Rome, pearls were prized for their rarity and precious lustre, and only noblemen could afford such luxuries. Pearls have long belonged to the upper echelons.