Pearls are a woman’s best friend
As Marilyn Monroe famously sang,
“A kiss on the hand maybe quite continental
But diamonds are a girl's best friend
A kiss may be grand... but it won't pay the rental on your humble flat
Or help you at the automat
Men grow cold as girls grow old
And we all lose our charms in the end
But square cut or pear shape these rocks don't lose their shape
Diamonds are a girl's best friend”.
Those words speak to an era where women had less agency in terms of being career focused, bread winners and relying on marriage for financial security.
Thankfully we’ve moved into a time centred around empowerment, self care and securing your own investments - jewellery included. Our value is no longer about our position in relation to men. And as gender lines and roles begin to blur, fewer people bat their eyelids when the light catches the gold or silver of a piercing in a man’s ear or the highlighter on his cheek.
Thinking about it, this header should read “Pearls are a person’s best friend”.
I’m not one to wear anything besides costume accessories but I do like the idea of investment jewellery that can be passed on to create generational wealth. And pearls can play both roles.
Not so much a fan of a full pearl necklace, I like one or a few as part of a pendant, ring, earring or even piercing and hair accessory. Earlier this year, Teen Vogue declared that we’d be seeing pearls everywhere this year and that the oceanic gem would take over the seashell trend.
And it doesn’t matter whether they’re synthetic, cultivated or natural (in terms of aesthetic appeal as opposed to environmental concerns) - they’re a democratic way of styling an outfit.
My pearl ring was a gift from &otherstories for a birthday milestone almost two years ago and it made me notice how the gem was coming back into fashion.
On red carpets, we saw Cardi B at the Grammy’s dripping with pearls around her neck and waist and dangling from her ears in February. She bought them at a local crafts store to embellish her outfit. “The iconic dress paid homage to the 1480s painting by Botticelli, The Birth of Venus, which depicts the goddess Venus rising from the sea on a scallop shell.” Right on trend.
Vogue magazine named them as the perfect Valentine’s Day gift - ‘forget diamonds’ they stated earlier this year. “Ever since Phoebe Philo turned the pearl from a traditional jewellery staple to a modern must-have, designers and shoppers have picked up on the unexpected appeal of the freshwater gems. Pearls have become so popular that you can’t even scroll through your Instagram feed or a street style gallery without spotting them on the ears of a stylish woman.”
Vogue magazine also says that we have The Favourite (a great movie to watch) to thank for reigniting our love of Baroque pearls. “Aside from Abigail’s pretty silver orbs and the resplendent black glittering danglers that Queen Anne wears in the preposterous baroque dance scene, lustrous pearls dominate: white pearls, grey pearls, black pearls with a matching choker, pearls dangling from hoops of gold. A pistol and a tri-corn hat have never looked sexier than when accessorised by Lady Sarah with a pair of exquisite natural pearl drops.”
Refinery29 marks pearls’ flaws as the key to their appeal. It’s what the Japanese call wabi sabi - the beauty of imperfection.
In 2017, the Financial Times reported on “the long fall and curious rise of the pearl industry - fashion and science revolutionised — then destroyed — it, but it is having a revival”.
London jeweller Annoushka Ducas shared in the article how former FLOTUS Michelle Obama,“changed a lot about the way people view pearls. She wore a lot of pearls in big chokers, in a cool, modern way. I think she probably did a lot for making pearls modern again”. Even her mother Marian Shields Robinson is a fan.
The writer of the FT piece, Sarah Shannon, tracks the value of the pearl according to their interest in auctions. She says, “The most expensive diamond is the Pink Star, sold by Sotheby’s earlier this year (2017) for $71.2m.”
We’re sure the renaissance and its rise will continue.