Everyone seems to want strands with mixed colors and sizes of rounds, and large baroques for the evening, preferably with color (small beads between pearls, on clasp or ?). The real sighs go for drop shapes that simply aren't there. And historic jewelry designs that I suspect Zeide might approve of too
(think: Donatella Pellini)
However, the group 'surveyed' is a not very large circle of ladies in European office (public administration, government and related). Not terribly glamorous bunch.