Pearls: June pearl month, from the get-glow

The Passage puts pearls in the window at least once a season, with an extra dash of enthusiasm in  June's long days. If you are thinking, "I look a little tired, should I try a highlighter?", how about Nature's highlighter, pearls?

Not just any pearls, though; the luminous beauty of a good pearl will endure after your latest Sephora fling is but a dabbed-out jar. Put on a pair of real pearl earrings and your face will have an internal lift. (Fake pearls shine but don't glow; quality pearls glow from the inside out.) 

That glow is from the composition of the pearl's many layers of crystalline nacre platelets. Light enters, travels to the interior, and bounces back to the surface. The overall effect is called "lustre", and different varieties have different degrees of lustre.  

In the window today, pearls of very good to exceptional quality; some may be s/o now but they're useful examples. There's just no substitute for trying on various varieties, and seeing how they look against your skin. It's almost as if they have a life, too.

Plumply posh South Sea

South Sea pearls have a deep, diffuse glow. This South Sea and 14k gold ring shows off a hand-grabbing 17mm rich gold button pearl. Price, $US 2, 520. Also made to order with other pearl varieties.

Photo: Kojima Pearl  

Akoyalicious

You can see your reflection in high-end akoyas, especially the hanadama akoya, which meets the rigorous standards of Japan's Pearl Science Laboratory, who certify this classification. Akoyas are not big pearls, but the lustre makes up for the smaller size. Rachel, who has a hanadama pendant, calls it "the pearl that wanted to be a headlight."

Hanadama natural-colour 7.5-8mm akoya studs from Pearl Paradise; price, $US 909.

Photo: Pearl Paradise

Blue akoyas, one of my absolute favourites. This Kojima necklace of a blue baroque akoya and three alluring pink tourmalines (now s/o), shows what you want in a blue. 

Photo: Kojima Pearl

The price for that piece was $US 250; I would have bought it if it were longer!

Fine freshwaters

South Seas and Tahitians are shimmery, akoyas brightly reflective, and quality freshwaters are in between. The varieties also can show overtones which deliver colour play and tonal shifts. Though there are fair-quality whites in every jewellery store, high-lustre CFWs in beautiful natural colours (including natural white) are another thing: you'll be searching for jewellers who know and love pearls.

The hand holding the assortment of baroque CFW pairs below belongs to Sarah Canizzaro of Kojima Company; I had requested a pair of lively, 10mm grey off-rounds with flashy overtones. She found these on a trip to Hong Kong. I chose the third pair from the top; six years later, I've grown used to women stopping to ask where I found them. They cost less than average-quality studs from a jewellery boutique.

Sarah's HK finds

For top-quality CFW rounds, see PearlParadise's Freshadama line; I also suggest Kathleen Branson, on Instagram as pearlzaustralia, who sells some stunning CFWs as well as saltwaters. Here, she's showing metallic high-lustre CFW "Edisons" (a trade name):

Photo: pearlzaustralia

She also has an Etsy store with a small selection of her inventory, but her best-quality pearls are on Insta.

The Keshi kicker

Keshis are a byproduct of pearl culturing, found in all cultivated pearl varieties. They occur when the mollusk rejects the implanted nucleus, reacting instead to the mantle tissue, and forms nacre around that, so they are all-nacre, and show remarkable lustre. 

The shape ranges from nuggety to flattish, and the colour range is the full pearl rainbow, perfect for causal styles. Over the past two decades, keshis have caught on, so prices have climbed, but they still deliver excellent value. 

Pay particular attention to the composition of keshi pieces; the overall effect should be harmonious and balanced. The flat 'corn flake' shapes are sometimes centre-drilled to make a stack, like this chic Tomacelli necklace of keshis with carnelian and citrine beads by Australian jeweller Jan Logan. 

Photo: Jan Logan

Of particular interest to those who want to support sustainable pearl farming is the Kasumi; that special Japanese freshwater pearl will have its own dedicated post.

In the meantime, put on your glowing pearls and feel their lustre bounce right into your heart.