Is it okay to wear Pearls these days?

[TalkingShop]

Hi,

I just wondered if it okay to wear pearls these days or would I look as though I'd got up in the morning and landed in the wrong century?

I was watching this really interesting video on youtube, which was an interview with Diana Mosley and she had a three strand pearl necklace over a navy blue roll neck jumper with a very striking broach just below.

This is the video:
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She was being interviewed about her association with the fascists, which was not so great, but I really liked her necklace and roll neck jumper and broach and how they complement her hair. I also live in roll neck jumpers with a similar hairdo, and I wondered if I could do that too or if I would look like a total idiot.

I'd have to wear plastic ones on a nylon thread from a craft shop, which might be fantastically naff too. That does sound naff actually doesn't it? Maybe it only works if they are real pearls and the person has the classy accent to go with them? I don't.

Anyway, do you think this is a bonkers idea? I thought it might be a bit nicer than a knackered gap sherpa hoodie, but maybe I can't carry it off. I'm nearly 50, tall slim, knackered looking. Same build and hairdo as Diana Mosley, but not the same posture or accent.

My hair is brown but with a silver streak at the sides.

Thanks!

Always check charity shops for pearls - I have 7 strings I've bought in recent years in various colours and sizes. None were more than £3.

Don’t google pearl necklaces, though 😳

@PaintDecisions Thanks, I'll have a look. We've been watching auctions online recently and we've seen some really lovely things being sold for practically nothing. It made me think that I'm really missing a trick there. The jewellry particularly sells for very little.

All the auctions are gathered together here and you can watch them live, like it was a zoom call.

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb

Real pearls? That's amazing if so!

I think I sorts of have a plan now.

I could buy two roll necks, one in wool (to be warm) and one in cotton (to be cool). Then two strings of beads, one with real pearls and one that's just brown beads, and each enough to go three times round the roll neck. I have a broach from my Granny that I could wear in the place where my lapelle should be.

I reckon if I stick all those in the cupboard, ready for action, then if the world ever needs me to be smart at short notice then I would be ready.

Then I could go back to being scruffy and not need to worry about it for another 20 years.

I was also going to say charity shops I have found real pearls in charity shops too.

Yep! All real pearls. I've also got a lovely brooch which is pearl and marcasite in 9ct gold which cost me £1.... I always look closely at jewellery in charity shops!

Wow!! I'm going down to the shops first thing on Monday! You could always get stones/pearls reset too.

This is what we're noticing in the auctions. There are lots of real diamonds and precious gems and nobody is bidding for them. We could look like the Queen quite easily if we wanted to. Which might be quite nice just to cheer things up a bit.

Here the brooch and a couple of the pearl necklaces!

Nice :-)

There are ethics to consider too:

Is it ethical to wear pearls?
Pearls are different from most gemstones because they don’t have to be mined, a process that comes with its own detrimental environmental impact. But this doesn’t mean their production doesn’t raise ethical questions.
The conditions have to be right for a pearl to form. It’s not something that happens to every single bivalve mollusk. Natural pearls are quite rare — in fact, they only usually occur in one in 10,000 wild oysters. That’s why most pearls are cultured. This means they have essentially been farmed, and the irritants that cause pearls to form have been forcefully inserted into their shells.
Many animal rights activists believe this process is not only unnatural but also cruel. Oysters do have a small heart and internal organs, but they don’t have a central nervous system, so it’s unlikely that they feel pain in the way that humans or other animals do. But that said, the science is still not clear about whether or not they suffer when farmed.
“While we don’t yet know whether bivalves can feel pain in the same way we do, we can observe that oysters snap their shells tightly shut when they’re disturbed by touch or even when they sense loud noises,” notes People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

My DS and I have started doing restoration work at home since enjoying repair shop and there are all sorts of nice things in the auctions to buy and fix. It's really good fun.

I'm actually seeing a jeweller in a few weeks with the necklaces to see if we can restrand some into a new design. I fancy a collar style necklace!

@warmheartcoldfeet Thank you for explaining about that. I had no idea. I'll stick to plastic ones. I like plastic ones anyway.

Is it the same with gemstones and gold? I suppose they must have to mess places up pretty badly to dig those up.

@warmheartcoldfeet there's less of an ethics concern with second hand jewellery.

I love a collar style necklace. You could get a gorgeous one made from your pearls. Amazing! I never thought to look!

🤣🤣🤣🤣 either way if you're not a fascist you'll be one up on Diana Mosley

I have got several strands of freshwater pearls in various lengths and colours. Go and look on ebay for Honora Pearls. I love my pearls and wear them when I want to regardless of occasion and what I am wearing.

@Jennifershuffles Very true

I’m a pearl geek so obviously I am going to say yes! And your necklace is stunning @TalkingShop

There are so many choices out there, but sadly not many ‘real’ ones available in the UK. You’ll find fresh water pearls, mass produced in China. Or glass costume pearls. And some saltwater pearls in exclusive jewellers.
Any coloured/black freshwater pearls are dyed.

When I say ‘real’, this is because 99.9% of pearls are cultivated. A truly natural pearl find is incredibly rare.

I’ll not turn this into an essay, but I fully support anyone choosing my favourite jewel 😂

Young men wear pearls nowadays (or lookalikes), they're not old fashioned. Depends anyway on what you wear them with.

I have a pearl necklace I was given for my wedding. I used to keep them for special occasions, but I've recently started wearing them more regularly. They look great with most things.

Cultivated pearls are no less real though, in that they are made in the same way, just that the seed is introduced by humans and can be reliably found again!

Even Akoya pearls are cultivated.

@godmum56 The Honora Pearls are lovely.

Pearls are timeless and elegant. Nothing to do with fashion. I have a three strand and a single strand set (inherited from my grandmother) and I wear them a lot...they should be worn not stored away. They look equally beautiful with jeans and jumpers as they do with evening dress. I have also got two sets of pearl earrings that I had made bespoke. One are traditional studs and the other set are pearl and diamond drops.

Save up for the real thing is my advice. Fake would be naff.