Beautiful new pearls... for someone

When I saw these 15mm stacked keshis, sold by Kojima Company, I bought them immediately. ("Stacked" means that the hole is drilled in the centre, so the pearl is strung like a cheerio.)

Big, casual, lustrous: my kind of pearl. And the play of colours! Soft biscuit, dove grey, glowing white, a hint of peachiness in a few.

A sixteen-inch strand is too short for me, so Sarah Canizzaro of Kojima Company and I decided to add a few graceful silver Balinese box beads. (At the right side, you can also see the magnetic ball clasp which can be worn to the side.)

But–though I tried, desperately hoping–the finished necklace was too short, 17 inches. (Normally a 16-inch strand will string up to at least 18", but with stacks, you are not knotting between every pearl, so can't count on that much length.)

Adding more beads would interrupt the sumptuous sweep of the pearl stacks and unbalance the design. This felt like finding out that Johnny Depp is too short for me.

I wanted to show the allure of stacked keshis in the hands of a talented designer. Someone who can wear a 17" necklace will love this as I did. If that's you, félicitations!

Marvelous service from Kojima; I'll be working with them to find longer pearls, but like the oyster, must be patient while nature and Sarah do their magic.