Zara's new Priceless Imperfection pearls

Designer Zara Scoville creates astonishing pearl pieces, featuring "dirty pearls": the mauve, grey, gold, taupe, black and rose shades she grew to love when living on a Pacific island five years ago with her astronomer husband Nick and young son, Caius.

This LA based former special-effects costume designer is my personal favourite for pearls above and beyond.

Her newest pieces, displayed on her site, Priceless Imperfection, reflect her own verve and character: rocker pearls, delicate pearls, insouciant pendants- anything but boring beads. Have a look; she's made both bold and delicate pieces, all with her signature natural-coloured pearls.

"What excites me," Zara says, "is the unusual and organic beauty of nature's imperfection, especially in pearls, which have traditionally been considered the height of purity and perfection.

Oddities or color variations are normally bleached and dyed to conceal their true nature, but I find myself powerfully drawn to the affectionately named 'dirty pearls' in their natural, organic state."

The pieces shown here:
At top: Chain Mail
Dirty pearls (11m-15mm) wrapped with blackened sterling wire and chains; 18". $400

Left: Sparkly Dangles
Various colored dirty pearls ( 10mm-14mm) with shiny sterling discs on sparkly sterling silver chain; 40". $450

Near left: Rustic Royalty(Tahitian)
Baroque Tahitian pearls with oxidized sterling silver on waxed cotton cord. $360; also available with dirty pearls or Japanese kasumis.


One of the reasons for Passage des perles is to share exceptional pearl finds. I often think I could begin and end with Zara Scoville!