Pearls: The old and new, from head and heart

A new neighbour asked if I knew anything about pearls; imagine that! Next thing I knew, Kris was in my apartment with a bag of her old jewellery. Mine are in the foreground; hers, two necklaces, a bracelet and an earring, are the whites behind them. Along with her pearls, she brought her husband, Rob, a retired pilot.

Pearl play date

I had already sent them an online summary of pearl types and value factors; I was using mine to demo wearing them, especially layering.

Kris has two white CFW necklaces from Rob, a 6mm 18-inch strand and a 9mm double strand, both in great shape. The 6mm strand needs to be shortened, restrung and updated with a new clasp. The double strand looked gorgeous on her, but too limited for her current retired life; she could have it restrung as a rope.  

Clasps for the renos

I'd use an interesting vintage clasp on the rope, swapping its business-suit one for a cool mint green glass cab like this beauty from an online Calgary, Alberta jewellery and bead supply shop, Suzy Q Studio. Or, what about a '50s-moderne copper clasp that's actually new, for only $CAN 35?   

Photos: Suzy Q studios

For the smaller single strand, I like a gold toggle that can be worn at the front or back of a strand of non-graduated pearls. This graceful 6x12mm 14k gold oval clasp has space to clip on a charm; from Etsy seller RareFinds; price $CAN 276.

Photo: RareFinds on Etsy

Her guy wants to buy

She was enthusiastic about their glow-up, but Rob said firmly, "This is not the direction I thought we'd end up going." He wanted to give a splashy gift, and thought I'd recommend a shop. They'd go, she'd try on, and voilà, squeals of delight. I could see that he was set on this moment, perhaps for Valentine's Day.

Montréal has no boutique like you'd find in Hong Kong, with walls of pearls. The luxury vendors (Tiffany, Birks) sell classic whites and Tahitians, undeniably lovely and also expensive. Boutique jewellers may have several pieces, but not that lavish array.

But there is a specialist pearl wholesaler, gemologist Joanie Beauséjour of Perla, who supplies jewellers locally and far beyond. I've been in her stockroom and saw a very good range. We talked through the process of working with a jeweller who will bring in a selection of Perla strands for her. They plan to book a consultation soon with one of my favourites, Pilar Agueci, who had availability within the week.

If he absolutely wants pearls ready-to-rock on February 14, I suggested he order online to have them express-shipped from a reputable, high-quality pearl vendor. Kris already has whites; I would head for colour, and she agrees.

Photo: Winterson

From Winterson (UK), a 120cm (47 in.)  rope of 8.5mm-9.5m multicoloured ovals; price, £495 (plus applicable taxes and duty). The pink, peach, lavender and white mix would look stunning on her, and casual enough to wear everyday. They would have 30 days in which to use the full-refund return policy. 

I'm realized that in my excitement about her old pearls' possibilities, I trod on the sneakered toe of an eager spouse whose love language is Gifts. I was using my head and had overlooked the supreme authority, the heart. Rob wants to make a romantic gesture, and for him, that comes in a box with a beckoning bow. And, Kris can have it both ways, renovating the whites in stages, and wearing new pearls he's proudly giving her. 

Le Duc, who dipped in and out of our pearl meetup, said, "Sometimes you have to let us make the grand gesture." "Anytime, Big Daddy", I replied.