Heyas pearl pals!
OK so I can't help but notice how my tastes have changed in the small time I have become obsessed with pearls. I don't even know WHEN it started to be honest!! What happened to me??? How did this start??
Initially I thought that pearls were only for pampered princess girly girls. A majority of my youth was fighting off anything feminine (hello punk era). However, a lovely Japanese exchange student somehow managed to break my cage and all of the sudden I was able to love pink and other colours!
Ahhh yes I remember... my first strand of imitations that mom gave me. I never really wore them. Not interested. Too prissy. Enter a Rock and Jem show and I see a neat choker of dark FWP potato black/purple beads. Since I was wearing more jewelry lately I thought it would fit great! It did! I became fascinated by them and was initially disappointed to learn that they were dyed. Still loved them and for cheapies they had surprisingly nice nacre.
Then on a trip to Hawaii, bought a longer strand of those dark fwp. I also splurged on my biggest ever pearl expenditure... Opera length ombre SSP with Tahitian gradation. I thought it was GORGEOUS but I didn't know enough to know if I got a good deal. It did bother me a bit wondering so I started researching.
While researching this beautiful strand of doom, I stumbled upon the Pearls as One course. Oh crap!!
So now armed and dangerous with my limited new knowledge, I thought I knew stuff about pearls. I ordered a FWP strand from a Canadian website (supposed to be lavendar) website lied? Not round, look more pinkish than purple. Slightly potato shaped. Yep.... learned about the whitebox effect.... I Initially thought the pearls were average nacre. I Learned the difference between good and poor enough to now love that strand (Yes it had good nacre and fit within the definition of lavendar colours).
Ok so I digressed... Initially I was only interested in round, average sized pearls. My SSP strand being the only exception of 9mm-11mm ish.
Saw some circle and thought.. ugly. Saw Kasumis and thought... ugly.. same with baroque.
Oh how things have changed!
Now I am obsessed with Circle, baroque, Kasumis, and generally any other funky off round pearls! Don't get me wrong, I do have a soft spot for Akoyas when they are perfect.
It's just that I am not obsessed with perfection, but rather character. I now find perfect pearls beautiful but boring! How things change in life no? I now cherish even flawed pearls or treasure the fact that the blue Akoya strand I bought from PP's live event have slight bumps and are not perfectly round.
PS my favourites are still Akoyas and Tahitians but I have opened my heart to many other forms of beauty in the pearl world!
How have your pearl tastes changed?
OK so I can't help but notice how my tastes have changed in the small time I have become obsessed with pearls. I don't even know WHEN it started to be honest!! What happened to me??? How did this start??
Initially I thought that pearls were only for pampered princess girly girls. A majority of my youth was fighting off anything feminine (hello punk era). However, a lovely Japanese exchange student somehow managed to break my cage and all of the sudden I was able to love pink and other colours!

Ahhh yes I remember... my first strand of imitations that mom gave me. I never really wore them. Not interested. Too prissy. Enter a Rock and Jem show and I see a neat choker of dark FWP potato black/purple beads. Since I was wearing more jewelry lately I thought it would fit great! It did! I became fascinated by them and was initially disappointed to learn that they were dyed. Still loved them and for cheapies they had surprisingly nice nacre.
Then on a trip to Hawaii, bought a longer strand of those dark fwp. I also splurged on my biggest ever pearl expenditure... Opera length ombre SSP with Tahitian gradation. I thought it was GORGEOUS but I didn't know enough to know if I got a good deal. It did bother me a bit wondering so I started researching.
While researching this beautiful strand of doom, I stumbled upon the Pearls as One course. Oh crap!!
So now armed and dangerous with my limited new knowledge, I thought I knew stuff about pearls. I ordered a FWP strand from a Canadian website (supposed to be lavendar) website lied? Not round, look more pinkish than purple. Slightly potato shaped. Yep.... learned about the whitebox effect.... I Initially thought the pearls were average nacre. I Learned the difference between good and poor enough to now love that strand (Yes it had good nacre and fit within the definition of lavendar colours).
Ok so I digressed... Initially I was only interested in round, average sized pearls. My SSP strand being the only exception of 9mm-11mm ish.
Saw some circle and thought.. ugly. Saw Kasumis and thought... ugly.. same with baroque.
Oh how things have changed!
Now I am obsessed with Circle, baroque, Kasumis, and generally any other funky off round pearls! Don't get me wrong, I do have a soft spot for Akoyas when they are perfect.
It's just that I am not obsessed with perfection, but rather character. I now find perfect pearls beautiful but boring! How things change in life no? I now cherish even flawed pearls or treasure the fact that the blue Akoya strand I bought from PP's live event have slight bumps and are not perfectly round.
PS my favourites are still Akoyas and Tahitians but I have opened my heart to many other forms of beauty in the pearl world!
How have your pearl tastes changed?