The ultimate statement of femininity: pearl necklace

Pearls, women’s favourite gemstone, the symbol of elegance and beauty. Any girl with a taste for fashion would have a strand of pearl necklace or two, or a pair of nice pearl ear studs. Pearl necklaces vary a lot in price – a Japanese mikimoto pearl necklace probably cost 2000 pounds or more, while you can also find a very good strand from online pearl jewellery retailers for less than 100 pounds. Mikimoto invented pearl culturing technique and brought pearls into the affordability of most people. In terms of fashion pearl necklace, Chanel is without doubt the upper-end market leader. Chanel pearl necklace are always accompanied with their signature double ‘C’ logo. Coco Chanel herself always wore pearl necklaces with very rich design, often four or five strands. In comparison to online pearl retailer shops, high street jewellers normally charges a premium due to higher operating cost, with a strand of pearls priced around 200 pounds or more, depending on the quality rating. ‘Freshwater pearl necklace’ is a term often heard but not always understood. It means that the pearls are grown in oysters that live in freshwater, rather than salt water. The quality of the pearls are determined by the culturing technique, not so much where the oysters live. There are more freshwater pearls on the market as most of the pearl farms are operated with freshwater pools.
Even with freshwater pearl necklace much more affordable than natural pearls, some girls still prefer to go for even cheaper alternatives, namely faux pearl necklaces.  In fact there’s a subtle nuance between the terms ‘fake pearl necklace‘ and ‘faux pearl necklace’. Fake pearl necklace are usually made of pastic – beads coated with shiny paint. These pearls have slippery surface and are always much lighter . Faux pearls, or ‘stimulation pearls’, on the other hand, are actually made with oyster shell power. These pearls are kind of the middle point between fake pearls and real pearls, as they are made of the same substance as real pearls, but not formed naturally out of oysters.
Some ladies have pearl necklaces as their signature look, the Queen, of course, and the lovely late Princess Diana – she literally had an collection of hundreds beautiful pearl necklaces with all kinds of design. Sara Jessica Parker is another big pearl-lover. 1930′s Hollywood star Diana Dors also loved pearls and she is also creative – not just following the crowd. Her beautiful picture mixing black and white pearls of classic design is one such example.