Tagged with 'Pearl fashion'

At Winterson we offer three pearl jewellery sets for brides that will be perfect for wearing with most bridal outfits on your special day.

One of the most feminine and graceful colours, white became the traditional colour for brides to wear at weddings in Europe and America in the 19th century. A symbol of purity, innocence and grace, white continues today to be the most popular colour for a bride’s wedding day.

Pearl jewellery is a perfect choice to match the elegance of a white wedding dress. Pearls have unique properties. Their white and reflective surface will enhance the crisp brightness of a dress and flatter a bride’s complexion.

These classic and versatile pieces can also be enjoyed again and again as favourite items in any jewellery box and collection.

BRIDAL PEARL AND DIAMOND PENDANT AND EARRINGS SET

This elegant pendant is made with a white freshwater pearl in the shape of a teardrop, set with a sparkling diamond and presented on an 18 carat white gold chain. It is accompanied by pretty white freshwater pearl earring studs, that are also finished with 18 carat white gold.

This beautiful bridal set is a perfect finishing touch to a bride’s attire that will subtly accessorise the dress.

PEARL WEDDING NECKLACE AND EARRINGS SET

The classic look of the white Freshwater pearl necklace might be the irresistible choice for the bride-to-be. This wedding necklace and earring set is made with white freshwater pearls, which have been chosen for their excellent lustre and beauty.

The jewellery is finished with 18 carat white gold and the necklace is also available with a silver magnetic clasp.

CLASSIC AKOYA PEARL NECKLACE, BRACELET AND EARRINGS SET

Akoya pearls are a traditional type of pearl, originally farmed in Japan. They are characterized by their white color with an overtone of pink, making them an ultimate feminine gemstone.

This classic Akoya pearl necklace, bracelet and earring set is finished with 18 carat white gold and is one of our favourite bridal jewellery sets.

Visit our bridal pearl jewellery, wedding necklaces and bridal earrings collections for other exquisite designs and jewellery sets that will match the emotion of the occasion.

Whilst a single strand necklace of white pearls might be a sign of understated elegance, a multi strand pearl necklace layered with large, luxurious pearls will always turn up the glamour.

Some of our most popular, powerful and loved women have chosen to wear this type of necklace with its legendary style.

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, pictured above, was frequently setting the style of the moment with her triple strand of faux pearls. In this famous series of images of her in India in 1962, the First Lady is wearing a princess length triple row necklace, with an apricot silk dress and long white gloves.

Layering long mixed strands of pearls, chains and other stones has not only been a sign of jewellery fashion in recent years, but also consistently throughout history.

This beautiful portrait of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Duchess of York, by Hungarian painter Philip Alexius de László in 1925 shows the Queen Mother wearing a long pearl necklace with three strands of pearls.

The necklace lays elegantly across the shoulders, with the Duchess holding the longest strand in her right hand, as if telling us of her affection for these lustrous gems.

Perhaps the most famous multi strand necklace of recent times is Holly Golightly's famous five strand pearl necklace in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Although the pearls used for this statement necklace were imitation, the flattering effect of layering pearl strands captured the public's imagination and continues to be in vogue today.

At Winterson, we offer two styles of multi strand pearl necklace.

Our Triple Strand Freshwater Pearl Necklace with Diamond Clasp is made with the prettiest of round to near round freshwater white pearls, graduated from 4 to 8.5 millimeters in diameter. The pearl matching is excellent and the lustrous gems are held in position with a sparkling 18 carat white gold diamond clasp.

Worn with a fitted pencil dress, this graduated pearl necklace will effortlessly create an elegant vintage look.

For a versatile multi-strand necklace, our Long White Freshwater Pearl Rope Necklace with Silver can be worn long in a single strand, like a flapper necklace, but may also be twisted two or three times around the neckline. With three twists, this choker length multi strand pearl necklace can be dressed up or dressed down depending on the occasion.

With there being so many varieties and types of freshwater pearls available today, if you are thinking of choosing a freshwater pearl necklace, there can be a few subtleties in choosing the right one.

To help you think through the options, here are five types of freshwater pearl necklace that might match your style or that of a loved one you wish to surprise with a gift.

CLASSICALLY PRETTY

The princess length white freshwater pearl necklace is a truly classic necklace. Made with round to near round freshwater pearls, typically ranging in size from 6.5 to 8.5 mm in diameter, this necklace will match nearly any style or colour.

Beautifully versatile, it can be worn casually with a pair of jeans or dressed up with a glitzy evening gown.

When choosing this jewellery box essential, look for a high lustre pearl, as the essence of this necklace lies in the reflective beauty of its pearls.

NATURALLY PASTEL

Freshwater pearls come in a variety of natural pastel colours - pink, lavender and orangey apricot. These soft colours combine with the shining nacre of the pearl to create subtle and elegant pearl necklaces.

A multicolour freshwater pearl necklace is feminine, easy to wear and will flatter any skin tone or light coloured outfit.

When choosing a colourful freshwater pearl necklace, our advice would be to avoid dyed or treated pearls as overtly bright or dark colours will have a less natural look, may fade gradually over time and will lose their feminine beauty.

MODERN BAROQUE

Alongside the round pearl, freshwater pearls may have more creative irregular shapes. Keshi pearls, as they are usually called, are formed as a result of pearl culturing techniques. At times overlooked by women, today quality keshi pearls with high lustre and clean surfaces are sought after by designers to make stunning pearl jewellery.

A keshi pearl necklace can add a contemporary twist to the classic pearl necklace and can be versatile and worn every day.

FLAPPER FASHION

Extending the length of a freshwater pearl necklace evokes a different era of fashion. The sautoir, or rope necklace, is 95 cm in length or more and can be strung with round or near round pearls, but also button or oval shaped freshwater pearls.

For a look reminiscent of the roaring 1920s, the freshwater pearl sautoir is a necklace that can be worn fluidly down to the waist, twisted up to three times around the neckline in multiple strands or tied in a knot at the front.

VINTAGE GLAMOUR

Smaller to larger freshwater pearls that are graduated in size from back to the front of the necklace can create a particularly elegant and refined necklace. The pearls should be round to near round in shape and carefully matched, usually from 5mm to 8mm in diameter.

For a more glamorous style, these graduated pearl necklaces may be strung together in multiple strands using a special type of clasp.

With this type of necklace, the matching of pearl sizes is important for its finesse, so look for a well matched and steady graduation.

For the last 5 days, some of the UK's outstanding designers have been unveiling their carefully assembled new season's fashions and accessories for Autumn Winter 2013.

LFW this year hosts The Rock Vault again with fine jewellery being exhibited in the West Wing of Somerset House. The group of 10 talented jewellers included Fernando Jorge, Hannah Martin, Husam El Odeh, Imogen Betfield, Jo Hayes Ward, Melanie Georgacopoulos, Sophie Bille Brahe, Tomasz Donocik, Yunus & Eliza, and for the first time, Alice Cicolini.

Alice Cicolini is a London based jeweller who studied at the London College of Fashion and received her MA in Jewellery Design from Central Saint Martins. Her jewellery designs are characterised by richly coloured gems and covered with the deep, jewelled tones of vitreous enamel.

Alice explains “Coming from a curatorial background, my work blends influences from many sources - for example, Bauhaus costume, mid-century British ceramics, traditional South Asian and Far East Asian textiles, and of course the possibilities opened up by the craftsmanship.”

At Winterson we have been collaborating with Alice Cicolini to develop a collection of pearl rings and look forward to launching her new jewellery collection in the Spring later this year.

Elsewhere around the main show tent in the square and its side rooms, the atmosphere positively bustles with the ultra fashionable, the eccentric and often a particularly British sense of humour. Photographers gather at the entrance to snap at the crowd as the famous and fashionistas pause for the camera.

Most eye-catching perhaps are the shoes, with extreme heels and platforms being guided dangerously and skilfully across the paved square. In this world of fashion, you won’t fail to smile or be inspired by the use of colour and design.

From the late 17th century in the French royal court of Louis XIV, the bow motif in jewellery was perhaps first popularized. At a time when trade in gemstones was growing, and with new stone cutting techniques being developed, women enjoyed wearing sparkling bow jewels pinned or stitched to their attire.

How bow jewellery was worn also carried its own meaning  – a bow attached to a ribbon adorning a woman's neck is said to have suggested a playful side, whilst  a bow-shaped brooch worn close to the heart was a sign of being in love.

Bow brooches were known as Sévigné, named after the Marquise Marie de Sévigné, a French aristocrat who wrote numerous letters to her daughter depicting life at the 17th century Court.

An early description of the Sévigné brooch was by H. Clifford Smith in the early 20th century who wrote that "an important jewel worn at this time was a breast ornament, termed a Sévigné, after the celebrated lady of that name. This ornament took the form of a bow or rosette of open-work, of foliated design, generally of silver, set with small diamond splinters." (Source: Jewellery. G. P. Putnam’s Sons. New York. 1908).

The bow motif fell out of fashion with the French Revolution, but by the early 1900s appeared again as a favoured design motif of Edwardian ladies. Necklaces, earrings, pendants, rings and brooches in the shape of bows are very characteristic of the period.

With advances in the techniques to make platinum, bow jewellery designs also became delicate and elaborate like embroidery, and were often decorated with diamonds.

The bow is as popular today with its shape, symbolism, and classic influences in fashion. At Winterson, we are working on a new designer collection with Alice Cicolini that is inspired by the history of this celebrated motif.

This season's fashions and patterns are full of stripes, checks, and dots, decorated with gold sequins and shimmering metallics, with the size of jewellery also taking centre stage in the Spring/Summer 2013 (SS13) catwalk collections.

The sautoir is a long necklace that can be worn in a variety of different styles, draped in a single strand or comfortably looped twice or three times around the neckline.

Ralph Lauren's SS13 catwalk show, pictured above, featured sautoirs made of colorful beads layered over fashion designs inspired by Southern Europe. Nina Ricci added an extra touch with the abundant use of layered long golden chains of black beads, almost as if they were shiny Tahitian pearls, entangled together and worn over monochrome black and lace tops. In the Yves Saint Laurent collection, the sautoir brought 1970s rock-and-roll glamour with long metal necklaces decorated with tassles.

For Spring/Summer 2013, generous hoop earrings were also in style at Balmain, Diane van Furstenberg and Versace.

Almost every model on the Balmain catwalk wore large dangling silver hoops to match the black and white stripes and checks. At Diane van Furstenberg enormous gold-coated hoops, with an Art Deco angular symmetry, completed a bright orange and blue color. Versace used tribal hoops with sexy lace outfits and stripy trousers.

Amongst the bolder influences on the catwalk, the Chanel jewellery collection stood out from the others. Chokers and cuffs with oversized faux pearls complemented the architectural structure of the catwalk and this season's collection. Pearls were classic white or contemporary grey in colour and were layered unconventionally into seemingly disorganised, yet eye catching pieces.

Real cultured pearls may not be suitable for some of this season's over sized jewellery trends as pearls rarely reach the size of 2cm in diameter.

For a bold style, however, the long pearl sautoir remains our jewellery of choice for the summer. Worn long, layered or twisted and worn short like a choker or torsade necklace, the sautoir continues to reinvent itself.

We are thrilled to be announcing a new design collaboration with Alice Cicolini, a London-based jewellery designer, curator and author.

We have been working with Alice throughout this year to develop our new collection of pearl rings, which has just launched at Winterson. The collection features classic Akoya, South Sea and Tahitian pearl rings with diamonds and colourful gemstones, set in 18 carat gold.

Alice is best known for her beautiful and unique jewellery, which is inspired by the enamel traditions of Persia and the patterns and traditions of the Silk Route. Her pieces are handmade in India to the highest quality of craftsmanship, using an artisanal technique of placing enamel onto metal called meenakari.

This traditional enamelling style originated in the courts of Persia and was established in the early 1600s in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Colourful layers of enamel are laid into grooves in the metal and fired individually to build up a complex and intricate pattern that can turn a piece of jewellery into a work of art. Often this detail might only be visible to the wearer.

Alice's Silk Route, Jodhpur and Silver Tile jewellery collections combine vivid reds, yellows, pinks, blues and greens and are quite wonderful to see. The new hoop earrings (pictured above) from a new collection called Orbital feature enamelled 22ct gold and shimmering white opals.

A background as a former Director Arts & Culture for the British Council in India, a graduate of Central Saint Martins in London and an author on contemporary British dandyism, give some clues to Alice's love for fashion and creative design. She has exhibited at Somerset House and Sotheby's in London, as well as curating a number of international exhibitions on design.

Enamelling was also a favourite technique of the Art Nouveau jewellers such as Lalique and Fabergé around 1900. Around this same time seed pearls were very popular, being used to decorate brooches, bows and earrings.

What might be possible today?

Inspired by the tradition and combination of these classic materials, the new Alice Cicolini collection for Winterson will be launched in Autumn 2013.

With the launch of our new range of pearl rings, we introduced our beautiful Akoya Pearl and Diamond White Gold Ring.

Impeccably finished in 18 carat white gold, the ring exquisitely highlights the grace and elegance of the pearl - the traditionally symbolic gemstone for new brides around the world to wear on their wedding day.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ENGAGEMENT RING

The history and romance of giving rings is part of our wedding traditions, first being given in Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome as symbols of love, the heart and ownership.

In 1477 the Archduke Maximilian of Austria is recorded to have presented Mary of Burgundy with the world's first diamond engagement ring. Families around Europe with significant wealth followed suit.

Until De Beers discovered large diamond deposits in South Africa in the late 19th century, however, diamonds were forever to just a few.

A TRADITION BEFORE DIAMONDS

Couples instead celebrated their engagement with a variety of different coloured gemstone and gold rings.

Engagement rings with sapphires, rubies, seed pearls and other gemstones were popular, as was the use of other metal alloys such as yellow gold and rose gold.

Victorian pearl engagement rings were simple or intricate in their design.

The solitaire diamond, set in six-pronged claw style called a Tiffany Setting in 1886, is still the classic engagement ring design today.

But more unusual gemstones and cuts are back in fashion. It is also popular for couples to choose a more individual style, to personalise a ring, or even design a bespoke piece of jewellery.

THE PEARL ENGAGEMENT RING

For our ring collection, this ring design features an Akoya pearl, a variety of saltwater pearl that can truly match the emotion of the occasion with its special lustre and pink-white colour.

Two princess cut square white diamonds give the pearl an accent, whilst the flat court profile of the outside of the white gold band gives the ring a more contemporary styling.

A pearl engagement ring? Now that would be love.

Photographs taken by Karl Lagerfeld of 109 models and celebrities wearing the little black jacket are captured in a book and displayed in a touring exhibition, which is currently being hosted by the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea, London until November 28, 2012.

Karl Lagerfeld explains “The Chanel jacket is a man’s jacket, which has become a typically feminine piece. It has crossed that boundary. It has become the symbol of a certain feminine elegance, nonchalant and timeless."

In the spacious exhibition rooms of the Saatchi Gallery, the portraits wonderfully show off the varied looks and styles of the little black jacket. Carine Roitfeld explains “It is an easy piece, you can do a lot with it. You can wear it with jeans, over an evening dress, you can see it on a ballet dancer. It suits everyone, it is an incredible piece. It is almost like a jean jacket, but very elegant.”

Certain photographs stand out, in particular a profile of Tilda Swinton, a shot of Anna Wintour with her iconic hair bob facing away from the camera, and Carine Roitfeld herself, wearing drapes of long pearl rope necklaces.

Under the creative drive of Karl Lagerfeld, the fashion house is still setting a trend. Earlier this month, Chanel displayed a spectacular Spring Summer 2013 fashion show in Paris at the Grand Palais. The stadium sized floor plan had photovoltaic-effect flooring and lines of majestic wind turbines rotating gently and synchronously as the models wandered the spectacular catwalk.

The Spring Summer 2013 collection beautifully captured the fashion house's founding attributes of simplicity, luxury and reserve. The collection included Chanel’s black and white colours, but was also lightened with unthreatening reds, blues and greens. The love of Chanel for pearl jewellery was reinvented into bold bundles of oversized faux pearls worn as choker necklaces and bracelets. Also in the collection, pearls of small or larger sizes were scattered across skirts and jackets in the form of patterns or more functionally presented as buttons.

Bringing together the arts, with fashion, jewellery design, and photography, the little black jacket exhibition is an alternative, but nonetheless inspiring look into Chanel's unique world.

Eternally feminine, the colour pink represents love, prettiness, cuteness and old-school glamour. Midway between the colour red and the purple hues of magenta, pink is the colour of cherry blossom, flamingoes and a girl's favourite things.

Pink is also one of the natural pastel colours of freshwater cultured pearls. With the unique iridescent properties of a pearl as it catches the light, the highest quality pink pearls will make truly beautiful and gorgeous pearl jewellery.

The reasons why a pearl is a particular colour is complex and not fully understood. The colour of a pearl generally corresponds to its type of mollusc and the colour of the inside of its shell. Water purity and environmental conditions may also have an influence. Trace elements such as iron and magnesium are thought to probably cause the pink body colour of a pearl.

The natural pink colour of freshwater pearls is soft, subtle, and certainly not loud. Some colour enhancements and organic dyes may be used to improve a pearl's appearance, but any colour treatment such as this should be fully disclosed to you. Check for pearls that have no variation in colour, dye that has collected in any pits or bumps on the pearl's surface, or which may be concentrated at the drill hole, and if in doubt ask your retailer.

Pink freshwater pearls are versatile gems that will flatter nearly any skin complexion with colour and shine, much as a line of soft coloured lipstick would. A beautiful pink pearl necklace will add a touch of colour to a little black dress or tone easily with an open neck purple or red top. Pink pearl stud earrings are delightful to be worn with casual weekend and evening wear.

Freshwater pearls are also formed in other pastel colours, usually called apricot, peach and lavender. A multi-coloured pearl necklace, combining the pastel rainbow of freshwater pearl colours, is also fabulous to wear.