Correct pearl wearing etiquette

[Mr Plow]

Hello Wonderful Pearl Community.

I'm male looking for some advice as to the correct pearl wearing etiquette for females.

Two questions. I'm going to start by buying my partner some earrings. My questions are, as an example say I buy 10mm White south sea earrings. When buying further pieces eg necklace or bracelet, do they need to be the same size? and type?

Thank you and looking forward to hearing some responses from much more knowledgeable people then myself

 

[CrazyMissy]

I can only base this off what I observe from the magpies around me. Because well, there are no hard and fast rules in pearls, which makes them all the more fun!

The more traditional ones will have everything matchy-matchy, e.g. 9mm earrings, bracelet, necklace, ring. Same size, same shade, even same stones (usually just diamonds). They are cautious on size and weight though, a 10mm necklace strand, especially a rope, will feel heavy. I have grand aunts who are on the heavy side, and wearing 14-17mm pearl sets look mighty fine on them. On my frame, those huge sets look a bit too much though.

The younger ones (like my friends and cousins) are more experimental, mixing different colors and stones yet focus on one piece at a time. A gorgeous 12-14mm stud pair will probably be worn on its own, or accompanied by a smaller pendant. A rope or opera strand will be paired with smaller earrings, and maybe a ring but no more bracelet. Basically, only one piece has to stand out. To quote my aunt: "Don't pile them up, you'll look like an underwater Christmas tree. And people will think that what you're wearing is fake."

Here in PG, there's a separate thread here showing what the members are wearing, and how they pair things up. Some put on 2-3 strands at a time, and the overall effect still looks great!

See what I mean?

Now, you just have to figure out how your partner wears jewelry, and what the working budget is. 10mm studs with a lariat necklace or a bigger statement pendant is fine, but if you can splurge on a 10-12mm strand or a station necklace, that would be great as well!

Good luck!

 

[Katbran]

There are no rules any more for what goes with what .. it's whatever you are comfortable wearing. You can't go wrong with 10mm WSS pearls. A nice piece would be , at some point, to add a nice big WSS pendant or a strand of pearls. Additional pieces don't need to be the same but again it depends on the style of the person wearing them. You could buy some 10mm dark Tahitian studs..then you can wear one WSS and one Tahitian ... and wear that with either Tahitian pearls or WSS or White Freshies. Go through the thread that CrazyM suggested and you will see all sorts of combinations ! It's a very thoughtful and generous gift.

 

[cmd2014]

It depends. If your partner is looking for a classic set, then you’d be looking at matching earrings/strand or earrings/pendant and maybe a bracelet or ring to complete the set at some point. These would all be with pearls of the same type, color, metal color, and style.

If she’s not looking for that classic set (which tends to be a bit more dressy and formal, especially with a strand of round white pearls), then mixing and matching works well.

 

[BWeaves]

I used to be matchy matchy before I learned that pearls come is all these different, glorious colors and textures. Now I feel like every pearl the same size just looks fake, which is funny because my most expensive strand is Hanadama and my non pearl friends think it's the fake strand. I prefer pearls that don't match. Look at all the photos on the Show Us Your Pearls section of this forum to get an idea of how everyone is wearing pearls.

As far as etiquette? I think pearls look best with denim. Pearls look a bit stogy when saved only for a formal dress.

 

[jshepherd]

Hello Wonderful Pearl Community.

I'm male looking for some advice as to the correct pearl wearing etiquette for females.

Two questions. I'm going to start by buying my partner some earrings. My questions are, as an example say I buy 10mm White south sea earrings. When buying further pieces eg necklace or bracelet, do they need to be the same size? and type?

Thank you and looking forward to hearing some responses from much more knowledgeable people then myself

The most common is definitely the same size and type, but when they do mix, typically the earrings are slightly larger than a strand or bracelet

 

[Mr Plow]

Thank you kindly for the advice. I was thinking along the lines of what has been mentioned, that classical would be all the same, and new would be all different types.
I've been having to stealthily look at my GFs ears without trying to be weird to try and get an idea of sizing. I think once I buy her an initial pair she might then get her own sense of what she likes and can help me in the future.
Thanks again everybody

 

[Pearl Dreams]

This set of photos of different size pearl studs on a model may help you get an idea of what they might look like on your wife (while recognizing that we don't all have the same size ear lobes! Also the location of the piercing hole on the lobe may make the stud hang differently.)

Here is what a 10.8mm stud looks like on my ear; I have large lobes and the piercing is located in the center of my lobe. I can tolerate quite a large stud without its drooping. If you buy 10mm studs, be sure to get large earring backs to stabilize the stud.

 

[GemGeek]

That earring looks amazing on you! Great photo.