Pearls
The world is your oyster. It’s up to you to find your pearl.
Australian South Sea Pearls, the most precious of all pearls comes to life in the beautiful waters of North Western Australia and Torres Strait. No two pearls are alike; and each is unique as the individual wearing them. Once reserved only for special occasions, they are now more than ever being worn as everyday fashion pieces. With such a wide variety of colours, shapes and styles of pearl jewellery available it’s no wonder they have made such a comeback with their natural beauty.
Typical pearl colours are white, cream, yellow, pink, silver and black. A pearl can also have a hint of secondary colour which is seen when light reflects off the pearls surface. This deep shine is called lustre which is a combination of the exterior shine and internal glow. When the pearl is created in the mollusc the layers of nacre do not always end up layered smoothly and some spots and bubbles can appear. Pearls with the smoothest surfaces are the highest-quality, most sought-after pearls. South Sea pearls are much rarer and highly priced than their freshwater counter parts as they can only produce one pearl at the time an their colour is natural whereas freshwater pearls are often dyed.
Just like diamonds there are many different aspects that should be considered when buying pearls. The main ones are;
Lustre– describes the quality and beauty of the nacre. The higher the lustre the higher the glow of the pearl. A pearl with high lustre will have good reflective properties whereas those with low lustre will have a milky appearance.
Size – South Sea Pearls are renowned for their size. The larger the size the greater the value. Sizes range from 9mm to 16mm rarely reaching 20mm and above.
Colour– the variation in hue of South Sea pearls is limitless, each species can produce a wide variety of colours from luminescent whites to sparkling golds and black. Premium prices are fetched for pearls displaying unusually beautiful range of coloured overtones such as white pink, silver pink and deep gold.
Shape– The different shapes found are many and varied, round being the rarest and most highly valued. Other shapes include the teardrop, baroque, circled and button, each holding their own unique appeal and suitability to certain jewellery styles. Whilst more uniform pearls are highly sought, unusual baroque shapes look great dangling off a bracelet or cloistered together as a lariat necklace. Keshi Pearls have become our favorites to work with as their free form shapes created in nature inspires us to create truly a one-off piece’s of jewellery.
Lastly, no words can ever capture the real essence of a South Sea pearl. You need to touch them, feel the weight of a strand in your palm, or the oily smoothness of their skin. Their colour changes depending on their surroundings. So, take a closer look next time you have the chance, and see for yourself some of nature’s true beauty.
