Blue Candy - pearls and mints??

Today I would like to introduce to you a set of of pearl jewellery that I find especially sweet. Pearls, zircon stones (aka artificial diamonds) and big oval turquoise are used in this set (necklace and bracelet) called "Blue Candy". The clasps are a rose flower made with 925 silver that you don't see often on the market (as silver is a very soft metal, this kind of delicate silver flower are very difficult to make). The pearls are of AA quality, perfectly round with a silver overtone.

I really like the feeling that these smooth turquoise stones remind me of - large mint sweets!

If you would like to see more of this set of beautiful things, please to find out more on www.carlapearls.co.uk

Upcoming Carla Pearls wedding series...

Exciting news: Carla Pearls is developing a new series of wedding pearl jewellery. Our designer Sandy has already started sketching down some models through inspiration of some very beautiful wedding gowns - you will definitely find a piece of our wedding pearl jewellery that is made to be with your wedding gown!

Oh right - people have asked me what do I do anyway.. I (the Pearl Fariy) am the marketing director of Carla Jewellery UK Ltd and i'm a real jewellery frenzy - pearls are one of my favorite kind of gemstones!!

Sandy is our beloved designer who has been in the profession for over 10 years. She specialises in pearls, gemstones and silver jewellery.

New items will start being updated on our website www.carlapearls.co.uk in a couple of weeks. Can't wait!!

Pearl Dyes

A friend asked me about colouring of the pearls the other day so I thought I'd share on my blog about dyeing of pearl jewellery. This is a rather complicated topic as there are many ways to either nurture cultured pearls with colour tones or dyeing them after they are "born". I'll outline the simple basics here quickly for you:

There are three types of pearl colours that can be nurtured within oysters: white, lilac pink and purple. Other colours such as green, blue, chocolate, yellow etc. are achieve through "feeding" colours to oysters while they are growing pearls, so that the colour is fully integrated into the pearl layers. Coloured pearls, as long as authentic, can also pass the "scratching" test without losing any colour. (Scratching test is where you scratch the surface of a pearl with a sharp object to create a trace of powder; after wiping away the powder an authentic pearl's surface will stay as if untouched).

Carla Pearls offer an range of pearl jewellery that are either with natural, nurtured or dyed colour pearls. Dyeing does not affect the pearl's quality rating.

Claire - good for weddings and a lot of other days...

Claire is simple and beautiful. A classic double strand freshwater pearl necklace, adopting very good quality (AA+) pearl beads and a sterling silver slide clasp. The pearls are round or near-round, with excellent lustre and cream overtone and minimal surface imperfections.

One thing I really like about double strand pearl jewellery is that it is more flexible in style: you can either wear them as a classic double strand pearl necklace, or twist them a few times to create a different look. This also helps you to adjust the length of the pearl necklace - twist them loose to wear them at the princess length, or tighter to form a choker.

V.S.

Claire is an ideal piece of wedding jewellery. It has both a luxurious touch when worn twisted, or a simple and chic look when worn with two separate strands. Decide which style goes best with your wedding gown!!

...and of course such a classic pearl necklace isn't only for weddings. As it is not too famboyant, you would find it great to fit with a lot of occasions: dinner parties, birthdays, first date second date third date ... xth date..;-)

To learn more about Claire pearl necklace please click here.

Enjoy shopping at Carla Pearls! - and have a great day.

Lengths of pearl necklaces

It could be a little confusing sometimes to hear words like "choker", "princess" and "matinee" in descriptions of pearl necklaces. Unlike necklaces of other material/gemstones, pearl necklaces have special vocabulary dedicated to each range of lengths. While most other necklaces are simply referred to by their physical measurement, pearl necklaces are named by how low they hang when worn around the neck. Pearl Fairy would like to remind you in this post of these terms:

A collar, measuring 10 to 13 inches or 25 to 33 cm in length, sits directly against the throat and does not hang down the neck at all; collars are often made up of multiple pearl strands.

Pearl chokers, measuring 14 to 16 inches or 35 to 41 cm in length, nestle just at the base of the neck.

Princess length pearl necklaces, measuring 17 to 19 inches or 43 to 48 cm in length, comes down to or just below the collarbone.

Matinee length, measuring 20 to 24 inches or 50 to 60 cm in length, falls just above the breasts.

Opera length, measuring 28 to 35 inches or 70 to 90 cm in length, will be long enough to reach the breastbone or sternum of the wearer.

Pearl rope, measuring more than 45 inches or 115 cm in length, is any length that falls down farther than an opera.

The Carla Pearls TM collection offers us a complete range of pearl necklace lengths. Carla Classic pearl necklaces come in lengths of collar, choker and princess (10 to 19 inches) and Carla Fashion Pearl Necklaces vary between choker length and pearl rope length (14 – 45 inches).

Cleopatra and the Pearls

A pearl necklace in the family safe is probably something adored by everyone and passed on from generation to generation. Pearl has always been the symbol of elegance, purity and wealth, a God given gemstone grown and hidden in a creature from the ocean.

The Egyptian Queen Cleopatra is one of the most fascinating women in our history. The inventor of make-up is also said to have an amazing number of pearl jewellery that worth absolute fortunes in her collection. Back in the days when cultured pearls did not exist, pearls needed to be discovered in the oysters - finding one is like winning a lottery, let alone an actually good one. That is why pearls were historically the most expensive gemstone among all kinds.

Here's a story when queen Cleopatra wagered Marc Antony that she could give the most expensive dinner in history, in order to convince Rome that Egypt possessed a heritage and wealth that put it above conquest. The Roman reclined as the queen sat with an empty plate and a goblet of wine (or vinegar). She crushed one of a pair of large pearl earrings, dissolved it in the liquid, then drank it down. Astonished, Antony declined his dinner—the matching pearl earring—and admitted she had won.

Pliny, the world's first gemmologist, writes in his famous Natural History that the two pearls were worth an estimated 60 million sesterces, or 1,875,000 ounces of fine silver ($9,375,000 with silver at $5/ounce).

Shell pearls - introducing "Annie" necklace

Shell pearls are becoming more and more popular these days. They have similar lustre and touch as freshwater pearls but can come with more flexible sizes and colours. Carla Pearls offers a few shell pearl jewelleries along its adored freshwater pearl & gemstone collections.

Annie is definitely a piece of shell pearl necklace that nicely complements the rest of the Carla pearl jewellery collection. With its generously sized 11-12mm pearls with a subtly colourful overtone, the Annie pearl necklace is both trendy and elegant. It would be an excellent birthday gift or anniversary gift - ladies with great tastes will definitely adore it. Annie would also suit beautifully a bride who seeks a somewhat audacious style in her wedding jewellery.