With June fast approaching, I have been thinking about the pearl birthstone. I have never given much thought to the origin of birthstones which is why I found this little nugget of info very interesting! In the early 1900s one of the largest U.S. dealers of sterling silver and gold was a mail order catalog …
Continue reading “Pearl Birthstone, Pearl Pins and Daniel Low”
This pearl tiara is a wonderful pearl creations! Today, in honor of Princess Benedikte of Denmark’s 70th birthday, we honor her gorgeous pearl tiara! Now, first things first, what is a tiara? It is a head-piece, originally worn by royalty with a semi-circle/three-quarter circle design. Crowns, on the other hand, have a full circular or oval …
Continue reading “Pearl Tiara – Princess Benedikte of Denmark”
A review of first lady jewelry… this might be the beginning of a long series of blog posts! But, as I land in Washington D.C. to take care of some pearl business and then attend my 20th high school reunion (gasp!), I have presidents on the brain. Or, more importantly, their first ladies! And their …
Continue reading “First Lady Jewelry: Martha Washington’s Pearls”
“Three pearls in eighteen months? Three pearls in eighteen months!” I questioned, then exclaimed. In eighteen months, our pearl diver discovered exactly three pearls. I did not mean it as a point of criticism, I meant it as a marvel of natural pearls. Frizz had been diving in the Tennessee River for a year and …
The Oscar pearl hunt is tonight! The I love watching the Oscars and other award shows to see the latest fashion, the classic looks, the daring feats and, of course, the jewelry! With, of course, a strong preference for pearls! Sometimes these Oscar pearls are disguised in other pieces of jewelry or feature pearls like …
American pearls come from a variety of places all over the U.S., especially the ocean waters off the east, west and Gulf coasts and the freshwater rivers throughout the country. There have been pearls discovered in the Mississippi River, Tennessee River and many lakes and tributaries. Picture it, if you can: The native american were …
What is the big deal about Mikimoto? Surely you have heard his name. In the pearl business buyers love to throw around the Mikimoto name… especially by saying things like, “my Mikimoto’s” Other people have no clue …”miki-what?” So, I am here to tell you the big deal with Mikimoto! What is in a Name? …
Brailing is a form of early commercial pearl and mussel harvesting (in the 1930s, 40s and 50s). When brailing, you extend hooks across a bar and pull the bar through the river. The mussels close on the hooks. Why? When a mussel feels the hook on its open shell, it thinks one of two things.. …
Here is India and the pearl diver who works on the Tennessee River collecting shells and pearls! India is the Founder of The Pearl Girls and is thrilled to launch her All-American Pearl Collection in 2014 and tell Bruce’s story of 30 years of diving for pearls on the Tennessee River. It is an exciting …
The Pearl of A Queen is the pearl that launched America’s passion for natural, American pearls. It all started in 1857 when David Howell, a shoemaker from Paterson, New Jersey went fishing for mussels in nearby Notch Creek and discovered several pearls. He was then joined by two local pearl hunters, Jacob and John Quackenbush. …
Have you heard about the Add A Pearl tradition? When I first started selling pearls in 2006, I had many customers who had Add A Pearl necklaces that were never finished. At the time I was not familiar with Add A Pearl, all I knew is that these women had unfinished pearl necklaces and they …
Today, Frances Cromwell’s pearl are for sale. In 1658, John Michael Wright painted the 20 year old Frances Cromwell, youngest daughter of Oliver Cromwell. John Michael Wright was a baroque portrait painter from England. He painted young Frances along with her older sister Elizabeth Claypole, who, unfortunately, had passed away the same year. Both of …
