My "Pearling" Story...

CortezPearls said:
Lovely smile from the bride in pearls!
Congratulations @MotherOfPearlTrumpet
I have 3 daughters and none of them wear pearls so I am an unhappy camper in that respect :cry:
My wife adores pearls and wears them every day, but let's see if the twins will eventually warm up to pearls. They are still teenagers.
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Thank you so much...it was her friend's wedding and she was a bridesmaid. She does have a truly winning smile!!! Fortunately all my girls love jewelry, and pearls. AND now I have one of my 3 granddaughters who is also obsessed with jewelry. We've made lots of bead necklaces together. She loves making necklaces out of the rocks and shells she finds. Her younger sister (3 1/2 years) saw my off-round South Sea pearl pendant and said, "Grandma, I like your pearl...did you find it on the beach?" You gotta just LOVE a 3 year old!

Your daughters will warm up to those lovely pearls...they are still young and want really trendy jewelry, if any at all. I'm finding that the younger girls like layering the tiny pearls (2.5-3mm blues and whites) with their 14K yellow gold necklaces. White gold is currently OUT for the younger generation. So funny because that's how it was when I was in college! The pendulum just keeps swinging.
 
MotherOfPearlTrumpet said:
Thank you so much...it was her friend's wedding and she was a bridesmaid. She does have a truly winning smile!!! Fortunately all my girls love jewelry, and pearls. AND now I have one of my 3 granddaughters who is also obsessed with jewelry. We've made lots of bead necklaces together. She loves making necklaces out of the rocks and shells she finds. Her younger sister (3 1/2 years) saw my off-round South Sea pearl pendant and said, "Grandma, I like your pearl...did you find it on the beach?" You gotta just LOVE a 3 year old!

Your daughters will warm up to those lovely pearls...they are still young and want really trendy jewelry, if any at all. I'm finding that the younger girls like layering the tiny pearls (2.5-3mm blues and whites) with their 14K yellow gold necklaces. White gold is currently OUT for the younger generation. So funny because that's how it was when I was in college! The pendulum just keeps swinging.
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Oh well...Bridesmaid of Pearls then :)

And yes, the younger crowd are mostly going out for simple accessories made from leather, rope, thread, wood and even seeds. They are using just a bit of gold or silver too. Everything is tiny!
My oldest daughter is Asperger so she really, really does not care about jewelry, clothing, etc., but I hope the twins will warm up to jewelry and PEARLS...I have given my wife many pearl items and I would love these to end up as a family heirloom.

Blessed Weekend!
 
I recently took a trip to Spain with my 91 year old mother and my daughter. As we were disembarking the plane, one of the airline attendants noticed my peacock pearls (a "traveling strand" of pearls, of lesser value but still really pretty). I still kick myself for not just taking them off and just giving them to her! That's my plan in the future. As I get older, if my kids aren't interested in my lesser value pearls, I'm just going to take them off and give them away to anyone who is kind enough to notice and say something. How fun is that! Everything we we collect in this world is ultimately just "dust." We enjoy it and make memories with it and, hopefully someday share it with our children. Hopefully they don't just see it as money in the bank, but as something treasured for the love and memories each piece holds. Everything else should be shared beyond with connection and joy, and sometimes a delightful surprise! I've given away so many strands (especially ones that I restrung because I purchased the strand for it's clasp.) I've enjoyed seeing my closest friends wear these strands with joy, and the strands would have just been sitting in my jewelry box!
We just got finished going through all my mother-in-law's jewelry and so much of it was items no one was interested in. I'm melting down gold to help with a brother in financial distress, and taking the smaller stones and making a "diamond by the yard" necklace out of the left over stones. That way her stones remain in the family, little as they may be. Grandchildren are already asking about that strand (I guess because it is tiny as you mentioned)! I feel the most important thing is to have a history (if known) around a piece and then share it as the item is worn so the history is passed along and the children know it, and then treasure the item because of it's history.
Here is the peacock/akoya strand I SHOULD have given away! I will next time!
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Your story reminds me of a story from my past… The dad of one of my friend’s was a martial arts expert. He would be asked to bodyguard for Elvis when he was in town. My friend’s mom loved Elvis, and during one of his visits, he took one of the rings right off his finger and gave it to him to give to his wife. It’s a bit gaudy and over the top, as you can imagine, but what a treasure. I got to touch it!:LOL:
 
MotherOfPearlTrumpet said:
I recently took a trip to Spain with my 91 year old mother and my daughter. As we were disembarking the plane, one of the airline attendants noticed my peacock pearls (a "traveling strand" of pearls, of lesser value but still really pretty). I still kick myself for not just taking them off and just giving them to her! That's my plan in the future. As I get older, if my kids aren't interested in my lesser value pearls, I'm just going to take them off and give them away to anyone who is kind enough to notice and say something. How fun is that! Everything we we collect in this world is ultimately just "dust." We enjoy it and make memories with it and, hopefully someday share it with our children. Hopefully they don't just see it as money in the bank, but as something treasured for the love and memories each piece holds. Everything else should be shared beyond with connection and joy, and sometimes a delightful surprise! I've given away so many strands (especially ones that I restrung because I purchased the strand for it's clasp.) I've enjoyed seeing my closest friends wear these strands with joy, and the strands would have just been sitting in my jewelry box!
We just got finished going through all my mother-in-law's jewelry and so much of it was items no one was interested in. I'm melting down gold to help with a brother in financial distress, and taking the smaller stones and making a "diamond by the yard" necklace out of the left over stones. That way her stones remain in the family, little as they may be. Grandchildren are already asking about that strand (I guess because it is tiny as you mentioned)! I feel the most important thing is to have a history (if known) around a piece and then share it as the item is worn so the history is passed along and the children know it, and then treasure the item because of it's history.
Here is the peacock/akoya strand I SHOULD have given away! I will next time!
View attachment 463119
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This is a great story. I've given pearls away to people that have asked me for one (not Gem grades of course!) but never jewelry (since I don't wear jewelry) but this is a very nice story. Thanks for sharing!
 
jeg said:
Your story reminds me of a story from my past… The dad of one of my friend’s was a martial arts expert. He would be asked to bodyguard for Elvis when he was in town. My friend’s mom loved Elvis, and during one of his visits, he took one of the rings right off his finger and gave it to him to give to his wife. It’s a bit gaudy and over the top, as you can imagine, but what a treasure. I got to touch it!:LOL:
Click to expand...
And this story is also a very good one!
 
Happy Valentines Week Everyone! Here is a vintage custom made diamond/ruby 18K yellow gold clasp that had 3 graduated Akoya unknotted strands. I moved the pearls to another 3-clasp, modified the diamond/ruby clasp into a 2 strand and put larger high-end Akoya pearls on it with diamond separators. Matches my vintage diamond/ruby heart from years ago. Wearing them this week. WAY better than chocolates. (And don't forget the earrings!)
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Really nice! The clasp, pendant and earrings with rubies do make for a "Valentine's Day" theme!
Lovely!
 
Sometimes a freshwater in an interesting shape makes just the right statement. I had so much fun working with these flat-tissue nucleated freshwater pearls. Some look like a shark's back, some just plain "different." Needless to say it was a challenge to get them to end up the correct length to make a 3-strand, and then to get them to lay correctly on my neck. I saved the most beautiful luster for the earrings and the most interesting shapes for the matching 3-strand bracelet. As much as I love South Sea, Tahitian and Akoya, freshwater's will share a treasured place in my jewelry box, and my heart!
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Some freshwater pearls can steal their way into your Heart! And these are quite lovely!
So I understand why you love them :heart:
 
Does look Good!
 
You could also share your beautiful jewelry on the "Show us your pearls in Action" thread (you do have to wear them on the photos). That thread is amazingly LONG, but a very LOVED place for our community to share their LOVE of pearls. I'm sure you would have many comments there :)
 
OMG I dont know how I missed months and months of this glorious thread!!! Such gorgeousness and sweet stories!!! There are now too many beauties to comment on but I absolutely love your mother’s Tahitians such a loving gesture and the triple akoya strand!!! It is breathtaking! And the clasps...oh the clasps...all your findings are simply stunning! The ruby/diamond and akoya bracelet... delicious...Yes, I agree with Douglas “show us your pearls in action” is definitely the place your beautiful pearls would have more views and complimets which they absolutely deserve!!!
 
eolian pearls said:
OMG I dont know how I missed months and months of this glorious thread!!! Such gorgeousness and sweet stories!!! There are now too many beauties to comment on but I absolutely love your mother’s Tahitians such a loving gesture and the triple akoya strand!!! It is breathtaking! And the clasps...oh the clasps...all your findings are simply stunning! The ruby/diamond and akoya bracelet... delicious...Yes, I agree with Douglas “show us your pearls in action” is definitely the place your beautiful pearls would have more views and complimets which they absolutely deserve!!!
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Thank you for your sweet reply!
 
I hate the idea of crowding out "Show us your pearls!" with my long stories that might not interest most readers. I guess I'll just keep posting on this thread. It is nice to see so many people on this forum who share such creativity and have so much knowledge about pearls. What a treat for a novice like me. I learn something new every day.
 
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Pollen season will start soon in Texas and everything will be covered with a thick layer of yellow pollen. The live oaks and the pines leave an especially dense color of yellow. Perfect time to share some of my South Sea and (most likely) freshwater Golden Pearls. I purchased the following strand of what I thought were South Sea pearls, but got them at such a reasonable price that I'm sure they are the freshwaters that are so often referenced on other threads where people question the pearls they got on vacations to Asia. I do enjoy wearing them; they are a good mid-sized strand. It's funny, they are actually much more beautiful in the sunlight...perhaps the intensity of light shines through the yellow dye to the nacre of the pearl. Restrung with golden thread and a nice little 14K gold/diamond ball clasp.
As we continue into the Spring, more "Goldens" to come!
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