Yet another BIG strand
Surprisingly I could not find any mention of that necklace on the forum. It's big.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1225836202993
IN an airy workshop overlooking the water in Fremantle, Simon Henderson and Marianne Skitmore are hunched in deep contemplation over 58 pearls laid out on a velvet mat. Sunlight streams in the windows, glinting off the pink-hued orbs as the pair quietly discuss their next move.
Skitmore carefully inserts one pearl into a clamp, steadying it with her fingers before whirring into action what looks like a tiny dentist’s drill. She pierces the pearl through the middle, then picks up a flexible needle and silken thread and gracefully loops it twice through the body, knotting it on both sides to string it alongside the other lustrous spheres already on the strand.
It has taken five years of searching through $100 million worth of pearls - 25 harvests from five pearl farms - to arrive at this moment with the perfect specimens laid out before them. Henderson, the head designer of Kailis jewellers in Perth, and Skitmore, his technician, are assembling the most expensive string of pearls they’ve ever done. Each one has been chosen for its perfect roundness, pink hue (the most desirable) and exceptional lustre.
“When you’re working with something so special you really want to make it just right,” says Henderson.
Later, when the piece has been completed, he describes his reaction on picking it up for the first time: “It was one of those eureka moments. It brought a tear to my eye, because you don’t see such things very often.”
Expressions of interest for the necklace have already been received in the region of $800,000, but it could go for much higher than that. “Because of the rarity of these pearls, the market will ultimately dictate the price,” says Kailis’ general manager Sonia Mackay-Coghill.
The South Sea pearls used in the necklace are also behind the success of fellow Australian pearl companies Paspaley and Autore. Paspaley’s South Sea pearls are sought after by the world’s finest jewellery houses and designers including Tiffany & Co, Harry Winston, David Yurman and Mikimoto, but it reserves the cream of the crops for its own collections, which are sold in boutiques in Sydney, Broome, Darwin, Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Autore, which opened its flagship boutique on Sydney’s King Street in December last year, is also on the up overseas. Scarlett Johansson and Cate Blanchett are among the celebrities who have worn its pieces on the red carpet, and the brand is stocked by some of the world’s most exclusive retailers, including Neiman Marcus and Lane Crawford.
After a tough couple of years in the pearling industry - domestic and overseas pearl sales dropped dramatically in 2008 and 2009 and hundreds of jobs were lost - it is re-emerging on the back of increased prices worldwide. Hence the $800,000 Kailis necklace, which is called a Versatility Strand because it can be worn in seven different ways, from opera and collier length to bracelets and chokers. It shows how pearls are moving with the times.
Henderson and Skitmore’s creations, for example, are a world away from the realm of grannies and twinsets. The latest Luminesse collection, for example, is inspired by fluidity and form, and features white gold and white diamonds set against mesmerisingly white pearls. “When we first launched the brand, people hadn’t seen contemporary pearl jewellery that young people could wear … It really opened some eyes.”
But while the designs may be playful and sensual, it’s the pearls themselves that are the stars. Says Henderson: “It’s about looking at a piece and saying, ‘What can I take away from that now to leave it with a form that best engages with the pearl and holds it up for show?’”
Kailis, a small, family-owned business based in Perth’s King Street, is showing remarkable growth. It sells to more than 60 stockists globally, including in the Place Vendôme and The Ritz hotel in Paris, London’s Old Bond Street, the Croisette in Cannes, and a whole bunch in Spain. Stand-alone boutiques in Perth, Fremantle and Broome cater to the domestic demand.
But for all the commerce and clever marketing – the Luminesse campaign was shot by renowned photographer Rankin - Henderson attributes the success of Kailis to its raw materials. “Australian waters are the best for producing the Pinctada maxima, which is the oyster that produces our pearls,”’ he says. “It’s native to the northwest coast of Australia, so it makes sense that it’s happiest in those waters, which are warm and incredibly clean.”
For Australia’s pearl jewellers, the future looks bright as a new generation grows to appreciate their wares - but as Henderson studies his Versatility Strand necklace, it is its one-off beauty rather than its bottom line that captivates his heart. “We do everything within our power to help the oyster produce the best pearl possible,” he says, “but at the end of the day it’s really up to nature what we get.”
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Originally Posted by KauaiAnne 
