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).