I have had a lifelong love affair with the pearl. Whether cultured or natural, its formation inside an oyster shell has always intrigued me and its simple beauty never fails in its natural elegance.
I don’t know when my appreciation of pearls first began. I suppose it was with the anniversary pearls my mother added to each year on a necklace I had, still have, in fact. Both my sister and I have one. I can recall wearing mine on special occasions during my childhood. Dottie recently asked me about the necklace, setting me about to find mine.
The tiny strand sits where it always has, in a tiny flocked paper box with a hard, plastic, oval cutout, the better to see the tiny, graduated pearls in. The window is embossed with a golden ribbon around it, bows at each end, and Anniversary Pearls are printed in dainty script across the top. There are fourteen pearls on it; one to begin and then one for each year up until my thirteenth birthday. There is room for more, but, my teenage years seemed to call for a halt. My mom added the pearls a seed at a time, then, when money was harder to come by, my Aunt Christina continued the tradition until I became a teenager.
I wore the necklace as a young woman. It is so small and fragile it belongs on a younger neck now, however. The clasp is broken so that it cannot be opened, the anniversary pearls safe, but, permanently closed. I must see about getting that fixed some day soon.
When I graduated from elementary school, my cousin Mary Jane gave me a strand of pearls, matinée length, simple and versatile, that I wore through my high school and college years and beyond. It was a sweet gift from a young mother at the time who has always been the benchmark for panache and classiness. I felt a little bit more like Mary Jane when I wore those pearls. Her gift has always been an example of a fitting type of gift for a young girl turning a corner in her development. We don’t seem to have these tender ways of marking passages these days, do we?
Recently, I wore several strands of pearls; a choker and an opera length strand draped in much the style of the lady in the picture above. The picture is really the lid of a padded box I found many years ago for but a few dollars in an antique shop. It caught my eye and called to me, then promptly followed me home. It is where I keep a few strands of pearls; nothing too dear.
I was holding Kezzie, up close, more for my own comfort than hers, and she noticed the pearls and started playing with them. Holding them in her tiny hands, rolling them, pulling them, and then trying to push them off of my chest, frustrated that they wouldn’t roll onto the floor with her pacifier, then returning her attention to them. Kezzie got me to thinking of how pearls are formed, then tied together with perfect knots, forming strands short and long and graduated. Then I thought of the pearls of life that hold families and friends together, one pearl at a time, knitted and bound, in all their beauty, and I thought, once again, how grand life can be.
A beautiful post about something which has always been in my life but never been centre stage, Penny. Thank you.Pearls are a small and serene piece of creation: I had a string when I was younger. Now, reading this, I rather think I would like one now.
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Thank you, Kate. ” . . . a small and serene piece of creation” . I like that. A simple strand for you now and a young princess in waiting named Maddie for a few years from now perhaps?
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What a beautiful story, or set of stories. Those pearls have been transmitters of love through the generations, and now little Kezzie is reaching for them too.
My mother always had a string of pearls, and Mira from an early age has reached for whatever necklace I’m wearing. She has a little silver circle on a chain and we play necklaces, with her looking at mine and then pulling hers out to show me too. There’s something so intimate about what we wear around the neck.
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Thank you, Juliet. It’s funny, the little stories kept flowing.
What fond memories of you mother pearls must evoke, and now, Mira. I hadn’t thought of it before, but, there is something intimate about what we wear around our necks; scarves, necklaces, a pin close to the neck.
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Beautiful post penny, love the story of your pearls, you must treasure them. I too love pearls for their simple beauty and they hold so many childhood memories of my mother and grandmothers wearing a string of pearls.
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I am sure they are treasured memories, Marilyn. I do treasure them. Thank you.
Oh, I’m giggling at your second comment. I do this all the time. Besides, someone who can photograph a bug, on a bug, on a snail, on a chili pepper can certainly make a typo. I keep going back and looking at it.
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I meant to type ‘Penny’, I pushed post comment just as I noticed my error.
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Pearls have always held such a fascination to me…in my country it is said that pearls will make you cry in your marriage, if you have an engagement ring that is a single pearl.
Oh the wisdom of the ages 🙂
Mrs. M.
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What an interesting saying, Mrs. M. The wisdom of the ages, indeed. If you don’t mind my asking, what is country of birth? Your writing is so spiritual and so lovely and heartfelt.
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Ahhh Pearls! I had some, but they are not my style. I spent too many hours restringing them for Dad’s store. I think they are pretty but think I had my fill. I used to get one dollar per strand for knotted and fifty cents for regular strands. I really hated the graduated strands. Real pearls always had to be knotted. That means a knot between every bead! It must be tiny, neat, and tight. The graduated pearls were tough because they had to be just perfect. If you get one in the wrong place it really shows and you have to start over. My sister still restrings necklaces. She contracts with jewelry stores all over Springfield. As far as I know she is the only one who still does it.
Once again, your lovely post brought back many memories.
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I had a feeling you would have an interesting perspective. They are really labor intensive and, while I have always loved pearls, I will now appreciate them even more and think of you. What a precise talent and I imagine it took a while to perfect it. I can’t believe Linda still does this. I am impressed. My anniversary pearls are so tiny and delicate, I can’t imagine working with them.
Thank you, Janet. I can feel you cringing 200 miles away.
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What a lovely post Penny. Life is grand isn’t it? Especially when taking the time to notice and appreciate it as you obviously do.
Your story about Kezzie and your pearls brings to mind a well known photo of Jackie Kennedy with a very young JFK jr. pulling at her famous triple-strand pearl necklace!
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Thank you, Janet. It is. That is kind of you to say.
That is such an iconic picture of Jackie Kennedy, isn’t it? I doubt there are many of my generation here in the States that doesn’t know the picture you reference.
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