I will try and give you an understanding of my fascination and the inspiration I get from the uniqueness  of each pearl. After 25 years working with pearls I find that each pearl offers even more inspiration than when I first had the opportunity to design and make pearl jewellery. Here is a brief outline of pearls and how I work with them to create unique beautiful pieces of Pearl Jewellery.

Pearls have a unique place in precious gems as they are created by a living creature. And it is by a pure accident of nature that a pearl is created.A pearl oyster basically gets a piece of sand or shell inside its self and it irritates the oyster to produces a liquid (nacre)to coat the irritation. The  pearl oyster  keeps adding the nacre and this becomes the pearl. There are different types of pearls created by different types of pearl oysters in different parts of the worlds oceans. The ones that can be commercially harvested are from the genus Pintada and vary in size and colour depending on the different species of the Pintada oyster. The Japanese Akoya pearl is the Pintada Fucata Martensii and produces white pearls up to 10mm round. White South Sea Pearls come from the Pintada Maxima and the black South Sea Pearls come from the Pintada Margaritifera. Because of the vast range of colour, size and shape of pearls the design options are endless.I have been designing and making pearl jewellery for over 25 years and I am amazed at the individuality of each pearl and what it evokes in the design. Shape plays a very important part in the design of the piece of jewellery.A pearl can be spherical, drop shaped , oval or baroque (irregular) , but in each case I have to design around all the faces of the pearl not just one face as in a standard gemstone. This is where surface or the skin of the pearl becomes important, I am looking for the most interesting face. This may  be the smoothest or the most perfect face, but in many cases the imperfection maybe the highlight and give a play of light or colour that is special.

This will mean different pearls are suited to different pieces of jewellery e.g: pendants, rings, brooches,  necklaces and earrings. You might think you can put a pearl showing any face , but I always spend a lot of time finding the best way to view the pearl.This can make or break a piece of pearl jewellery. Pearls are thought of as classical jewellery but by far the majority of pearls I designed and made into pieces of jewellery have a contemporary theme, I feel that pearls can be for young or more mature , male or female. It  just comes down to the design and the right pearl to suit the piece of jewellery.

I hope my passion for pearls can inspire you to consider a piece of custom made pearl jewellery at some time in your life.

18ct yellow gold, diamond and black Tahitian Pearl pendant.

Garnet Peridot Amethyst drop pearl Earrings

18ct White and yellow gold diamond white South Sea pearl ring.