I LOVE Pearls

I love pearls - I always have. Pearls were the first piece of jewelry I ever bought myself while on a trip to Hawaii when I was in high school and I haven't stopped. I have my grandmother's pearls which I wore at my wedding. I have single pearls, pearl strands, long pearls, and short pearls. I have a variety of colors of pearl earrings, rings, bracelets, and necklaces. It's actually a bit obsessive (ok - what isn't obsessive about me?). My husband has surprised me with a variety of pearl jewelry the last few Christmas'.

So when I was in China this summer, I "had to" take advantage of the pearls readily available there. I added these beauties to my collection. I've always wanted a set of brown pearls (the picture makes them look black but they really are a beautiful shade of brown) alternated with white so I had a necklace and bracelet custom strung. I also had this set of large set dyed shells (which look enough like real pearls for my taste) strung into a necklace and bracelet. I have loved them! At the same pearl market, I also had some brown pearls strung for a friend of mine along with a strand of white/gray pearls for another friend. I cried a little inside when I gave the gray ones away. Then a few weeks ago at a local gem/bead faire that I frequent from time to time, I saw these strands of dyed shells similar to the ones I got in China and I just had to buy them. While I'm not nearly as talented as the ladies in China at hand-knotting the pearls, I can string them and put a clasp on. So now I have a strand of large gray/white/black and a strand of white/green with a matching bracelet. Yet another LOVE THEM moment in my life. I've promised myself that the next time I go to China, I'll spend the money on some Tahitian pearls of some sort - definitely a must have down the road.