Nita Naldi and her madly creative relationship with pearls

Nita Naldi with long pearl strings (Pic 1)

As one of the most famous silent film actresses of 1920′s, seen in classic films such as ‘Blood and Sand’ with Rodolph Valentino, Nita Naldi defined the image of ‘femme fatale’ and pushed boundaries of femininity further than any other of her counterparts. She also had a special preference for pearls as her adornments. As the best gemstone to convoy elegance, sexiness and feminine power, pearls were used by Nita Naldi in many ‘unconventional’ ways. She doesn’t just wore pearl jewellery. She expressed herself, her characters, through her pearl jewellery.

Nita Naldi with full pearls adornments in 1922 film Anna Ascends (Pic 2)

Even if it is just a simple pearl rope, she would still be extremely creative in wearing it. Not just a simple pearl necklace, she would use it both as the necklace, and the bracelet. In the era of silent films, actors had to fully rely on the visual to capture audience attention and interpret their characters. The more Nita needed to express her character, the more pearls she would use. In her 1922 film Anna Ascends, she had the role of the Countess Rostolff. No one has ever used pearl adornments this daringly. She literally covered herself in pearls, large, black and white round pearl ropes tied to her arms, all over her arms, falling all the way to the floor, covering the full length of her long dress. She also had a complex head adornment fully embedded with pearls. There is something extremely passionate and emotional about her choice of the outfit for this film. A very powerful woman who is on top of the world, but perhaps a little bit lonely and finds it hard to form trusting relationships with people.

Nita Naldi with long pearl ropes in Blood and Sand with Valentino (Pic 3)

In her most famous film Blood and Sand (1922) with Valentino, pearls became her way to express sensuality, love and fragility. A few very long pearl ropes are used as necklace, bracelet, or simply wrapping around her shoulder. Her very low neck outfit was also extremely daring back then. As a leading Hollywood actress, she was as usual defiant to social conventions.

Nita Naldi with casual pearl rope (Pic 4)

Even just a simple classic rope pearl necklace, Nita would never wear them just like everyone else does. See how she casually wraps the pearl rope around her neck in a double strand, almost like a scarf! It is different, but not matter how different, it always happens to bring out the most charm out of her. She is simply, gorgeous.

The story of black pearls

Pearl jewellery is without doubt the most popular choice for wedding jewellery. Pearl has always been known as the ultimate symbol for beauty, purity and elegance. Pearls have been loved by women for as long as fashion existed. For the longest time, only white pearls were appreciated and sought after, however starting from the first part of the 20th century, black pearl jewellery came into fashion, people slowly started to appreciate its mysterious multi-colour overtone and unique beauty. The start of the story was very interesting: a smart merchandiser positioned black pearls firmly in the highest class jewellery, selling them only fitted with diamonds and gold for very high prices. This has helped to turn people’s perception around black pearls and seemingly effortlessly, black pearls climbed straight to the top of the market niche. In most wedding jewellery collection, pearl necklace and pearl earrings set are the popular choice, while many ladies add in for pearl brooches and tiara as well. Pearl ring is a less likely choice for engagement ring, however they are extremely popular just as special treats.

'Edith' black pearl necklace by carla pearls

We are very lucky to live in a time that so many resources are made available to everyone. Even the choice of affordable pearl jewellery – which are much cheaper than 100 years ago thanks to pearl culturing. In fact the price difference is astonishing. Pearls used to be an extreme form of luxury only for the upper class. Today most women can afford to treat herself with a few items of freshwater pearls. Better still, the birth of faux pearl jewellery introduced the ‘pearl look’ to even more people and occasions. Today a lot of fashion clothes are designed with rich adornment of faux pearls, offering a classy look without customers having to break their purses. Of course, real pearl lovers would still go for real pearls, and they are affordable anyway. It is easy to tell the difference between the two: fake pearl jewellery are much shinier than real pearls and the feel to the skin is also different – fake pearl jewellery do not have the natural warmth and tenderness that comes with real pearls. Teenagers and younger women with less financial means, are big buyers of fake pearl jewellery. In fact there’s a subtle different between ‘fake pearl jewellery’ and ‘faux pearl jewellery’. The nuance is that, fake pearl jewellery are made of pastic – beads that are coated with a shiny pearl like agent. These pearls usually have a slippery surface which feel marble like and much lighter. Faux pearls, or stimulation pearls, on the other hand, are actually made with ‘whipped up’ oyster shell powder. These pearl products are a middle point between fake pearls and real pearls, as they are made of the same material as real pearls, but not naturally grown out of living oysters. Faux pearls are a popular alternative to real pearls in large sizes – they stay similar prices in sizes up to 15mm while freshwater pearl prices increase double or even triple, for each increased millimetre in size.

Pearl Jewellery: Pearl Bracelet

Close your eyes and imagine yourself wearing pearls jewellery. What do you see? You might be dreaming of wearing a pearl necklaces or a pair of earrings. But have you ever dreamt of wearing a bracelet? No. It is because among all the jewelleries, bracelet is one that is discovered very late as a fashion statement and hence it comes into our minds less quickly. But ever since Stone Age, human beings have been wearing various ornaments around their wrists made of bones, animal skins or wood. Bracelet or a simple lining of an animal skin around the wrist to mark something was there among our ancestors. But it was a very casual thing. Even today in most of the countries a bracelet somehow is considered to be a casual style jewellery. Till late 70s it was not in the scene of bridal jewellery. Gradually it found its position among formal dressing in big occasions. By 90s almost one in nine people in UK wore a bracelet. Bracelet even made its way into bridal jewellery. And now it’s an essential element of bridal jewellery regardless of whether you use platinum diamond studded jewellery or traditional pearls jewellery.

'Viona' by Carla Pearls

Bracelet now plays an important role in bridal jewelleries. From traditional pearls jewellery arrangements to an elegant platinum based jewellery set, bracelet is there in the scene. Earlier bracelet under pearls jewellery section was made only of white natural pearls. Along with the passage of time more affordable cultured pearl came into the picture. Colours also started to varied, from the original white-only to black, dark blue, pink, purple and golden, etc. With these changes in the pearls jewellery industry bracelet and its designs also evolved accordingly. Just have a look at the range of pearl bracelets available at Carla Pearls. You will find varieties from a luxurious looking multi strand pink pearl bracelet to amazing combinations of black pearls and gemstones. Again the use of other stones and gems like amethyst, jade, citrine, turquoise with pearls are abundantly available in the market. But for a special occasion like a wedding, a bracelet made of white round freshwater pearls is an absolute classic. Platinum, gold and silver bracelets are also available in the market. Zirconia bracelets are also available on the market. The zirconia bracelets come in a wide range of prices from $15 to $ 200. Depending on your budget you can choose anyone from them. In comparison to this, pearl bracelets are relatively costly. A simple ‘Blue Candy’ pearl and gemstone bracelet from Carla Pearls made of round white freshwater pearls with oval blue turquoise available would cost about £50, however as natural stones, such a bracelet would last you a lifetime, whereas zirconias with plated base that come at a lower cost would soon start to lose colour. Other variants are also available in the Carla Pearls online store where the combination of different coloured and shaped pearls is showcased. For example one beautiful bracelet you would come across while having a look at their collection is named ‘Miss Coco’. It is a beautiful combination of oval black pearls with rectangular agate stones and brown crystal. This piece is very elegant and classy, suitable for chic occasions, with an evening dress.

Don’t Neglect the Earrings That Goes with Your Wedding Dress!

Pride yourself with the bridal outfit presented by your designer! Probably you are the victim of wrong make-up style to match your dress and the jewellery or the vice versa. If you have got a wrong make up then the only changeable part is the makeup designer you hired. But if you have got a wrong match of wedding jewelleries it can be fixed easily. A perfect bridal jewellery touch depends on the fact whether you are going for a traditional way with pearls jewellery or modern way of platinum jewellery. If you are going for the traditional pearls jewellery which represents purity and elegance, I am here to guide you with a little enlightened way. Bridal jewellery, whether it’s a pearls necklaces, a pearl bracelet or a pair of pearl earrings, requires the utmost attention not only during the wedding ceremony, but from the start of the shopping journey. So, the very first thing while deciding about the pearl earrings you would be wearing on that special day is simply to search for the best store available on pearl bridal jewellery. If you want an expensive wedding ring or an expensive pair of well designed diamond earrings, you may go for reputed brands like Tiffany. But I believe most of the middle class people like us would love to go for the best possible and affordable pair of pearl earrings available. For this you may generally go to the market or search them in an online store. There are very good numbers of online stores like the London-based carlapearls.co.uk in the pearls jewellery business in UK. They not only can provide you the most affordable of prices but also the latest designs, with excellent quality pearls. Their window display contains ranges from the very best white pearled wedding jewelleries to very affordable freshwater pearl jewelleries.

Now let’s come back to our main discussion about the bridal jewellery – pearl earrings and pearls necklacess. A pair of pearl earrings or classic pearl ear studs is definitely the best jewellery to compliment your wedding gown and necklace. As the classic choice, the pearls jewellery in wedding enjoys the highest appreciation. From the socialization of marriage system the bridal jewellery mainly comprises of pearl jewelleries since the time undated. And this tradition of pearls jewellery in wedding continues to this day with the introduction of variations in shapes, sizes and colours of pearls. With the introduction of cultured pearls, imitation or faux pearls, many of the pearls necklacess, pearl earrings and other items with these variations are available in the market. So, if you are in the market looking for a pearls necklaces or a pair of pearl earrings make sure that you can tell which ones are authentic. Otherwise you again may land in the same problem of the original outfit confusion.

Also don’t forget to give a final dress rehearsal just before that special day. It would not only make you more confident in your gown and pearl jewelleries but also give you enough time to set those unwanted designs and jewelleries aside.

Shell pearls – introducing "Annie" necklace

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.