Perfectly ‘imperfect’ pearls to complete your look
A favorite with some of fashion’s most pioneering jewelry designers, pearls have shed their old-fashioned image and become the chicest pieces to be seen in. SARAH ROYCE-GREENSILL shines a light on this season’s most beautiful and unique designs
The Queen is rarely seen without a string of pearls around her neck. Princess Diana was a huge fan – as were the many who emulated her style – and the Duchess of Cambridge has a love of classic pearls. However, outside of the royal family, these precious gems have long shaken off their prim and proper reputation. In a quest to contemporize classic pearls, jewelers have sliced them open, adorned them with spikes and set them within edgier, more modern designs. They’ve become a staple of the most stylish jewelry boxes; now, jewelers are taking the look one step further by championing imperfect, organic, baroque pearls.
“Working with pearls is all about showcasing their pure beauty, not messing with it in any way,” says Danish jeweler Sophie Bille Brahe, whose new capsule collection – exclusive to NET-A-PORTER – features large baroque pearls in shades ranging from white and silver to dusky pink. Their irregular silhouettes contrast beautifully to the neat pearl orbs with which they’re paired. “They are magical – you can feel the beauty of life and nature in each one.”
Bille Brahe was attracted to the ‘wabi-sabi’ (the Japanese philosophy of an imperfect life) aesthetic of baroque pearls – a world away from the traditional, perfect spheres. “When I find something that touches me and I can’t really decide whether I like it or not, I know I have to explore it,” she says. “Ultimately I focused on the earrings that I would want to wear. They are visually strong, yet they have a relaxed feel. They’re perfect with loose hair and casual clothes. I love wearing a pearl necklace with a white T-shirt.”
Think of baroque pearls as the jewelry equivalent of the stompy boots you use to add edge to a floral dress. Their uneven finish means they bring a more casual vibe to a silk shirt or strappy camisole, and their luster complements a tan beautifully, making them a late-summer no-brainer. At the same time, they can be used to add a sense of glamour to the most everyday outfit; one very chic fashion editor wears hers with a hoodie and jeans. They are surprisingly, and endlessly, versatile.
Anna Jewsbury, founder of London-based label Completedworks, was also attracted to the imperfections of baroque pearls. She pairs them with molded ceramic discs that complement their amorphous forms. “The asymmetry echoes the aesthetic of the shapes that we explore in our designs,” she says. “There is a certain charm to knowing that each piece is different.”
Baroque pearls are the perfect partner to the molten-looking gold that is a signature of Alighieri, the jewelry label founded by Rosh Mahtani. “When I first started designing, I came across a strand of baroque pearls that nobody else wanted at the time,” she says of the lustrous drops that hang from earrings and pendants. “I loved that they were imperfect and no two were the same; they told their own story. Pearls have a nostalgic and timeless quality; by mixing them with molten-gold castings or chunky chains, they can look contemporary while still feeling like a vintage heirloom.”
Pacharee also pairs baroque pearls with organic ripples of gold, while at Mateo, Matthew Harris contrasts their distorted outlines with precise pavé-diamond hoops. The New York-based designer is drawn to pearls as they are his birthstone – he strings three together in drop earrings that are as striking as any dazzling diamonds.
Symbolizing purity and integrity, pearls have long been a favorite with brides. Baroque pearls are the perfect contemporary update on this tradition, a fashion-forward take on the classic bridal look. Tilly Macalister-Smith, digital director of Wallpaper magazine and proprietor of earring-obsessed Instagram account @earafterear, wore a pair of vintage baroque pearl earrings for her socially distanced wedding in July. “I found them online the week before the wedding – they were the perfect size, not too overpowering, and their baroque form felt more modern than prim, traditional pearls,” she says. “I wore them with a little diamond ear cuff as a contrast; I’ll absolutely wear them again.”
Whether you plan to wear yours on a ‘big’ day or every day, don’t expect to see pearls disappear from your jewelry radar any time soon. “I don’t see pearls as a ‘trend’ – they have always been a part of jewelry,” says Bille Brahe. “To me, they are a classic material, just like diamonds and gold; there are so many ways to explore them.”