Pearl Guide

Shaded Pearl Bracelet - Utopia Jewels

One look at their first display case at the Couture Show in Las Vegas, and I fell in love. This bracelet was my introduction to a brand that knows how to combine gemstones with pearls in a very big way. I invite you to visit their website and I am putting the link here, upfront, because they have a very entertaining introductory video that is not to be missed: http://www.utopia-jewels.com


Photo: Blaire Beavers

More jeweled beauties will appear...

A Historical Reprint from our Friends at Pala International
Pala?s Featured Gems: Natural Abalone Pearls

This month we feature something a little out of the ordinary?a local Californian/Mexican treat. Pala has found a new supplier of these ocean jewels and it has been exciting to see all the freeform shapes and iridescent colors nature can conjure up. Greens, blues, pinks, purples?oh my! These colorful metallic looking concretions spark in the viewer a wonder of formation and inspire...

Sarah Canizzaro, of Kojima Pearl, has been offering these breathtaking brooches for the last few years and it's a lucky group of pearl-lovers that own them.



Sarah and her husband, Mounir, have been busy creating a wealth of artistic pearl jewelry, custom pieces and special requests. Sarah has been in the pearl world all of her adult life and you couldn't hope to meet a more interesting or knowledgeable person.

www.KojimaPearl.com is a destination website for rare and beautiful pearls...

As part of Orange County, California?s Fashion Week, I attended FIDM's annual Fashion Museum Soiree on Saturday. Themed "Fabulous!", it was a private, ticketed event with a VIP reception area, refreshments and seating for the runway shows. The event benefitted the FIDM Museum Fashion Council, which hopes to acquire the Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection. (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising) http://fidmmuseum.org



It was still in the nineties when the event started, but...

Etienne Perret first came to my attention a few years ago when I fell in love with a pair of earrings that were decorating a beautiful woman. They were a swoop of white metal and diamonds, twining around Tahitian pearls. Now I know I was looking at his "Tendril" earrings.





And the clean-lined Madonna ring is another design that rises to the beauty of the orb, which makes sense, because Etienne has always had a special affinity for pearls.

Etienne: "I think it must be that I have an...

A jewelry collector client brought an unusual 26mm baroque pearl to designer Cynthia Renee. That pearl inspired a very cheerful creation - "The Smile".



Rose gold surrounds the pearl, flowing organically, and enhancing the lovely iridescence.



Cynthia Renee is one of my favorite designers and she has a way with pearls, as seen in this stalker-shot from the AGTA GemFair in Las Vegas. Cynthia is wearing her "Calligraphy" earrings with pink tourmaline, spessartine* garnet and removable...