When you are choosing your bridal jewellery, you have a chance to express your personal style.  Are you traditional?  Are you modern with a traditional twist?  Or do you want to make a statement with something completely different? 

Double pearl necklace

The most traditional bridal jewellery is a strand of pearls, pearl earrings, and a pearl bracelet.  Most natural pearls are misshaped, but a strand of natural round pearls can cost over $1,000,000.  As a result, a round core is implanted into an oyster or mussel, and over time a cultured pearl is created.  Today, cultured pearls are available in two different natural colours—-white, and black. 

There are a variety of coloured pearls that do exist naturally, but they are abnormalities, and are rarely found.  Pink pearls, for example, do exist naturally, and are really conch pearls.  The yellowish pearls which do occur naturally are also rare, and are sometimes referred to as Margarita pearls.  Natural pearls come in a variety of odd colours that occassionally appear—purple, green, brown, and blue.  Sometimes the naturally occuring colours are a blend of a few colours, and have an irridenscent quality.  Both white and black cultured pearls are harvested regularly and are commonly available. 

It is interesting that most “white” pearls, actually have some colour to them when examined closely.  The most common overtones are white rose, pink, silver, and gold.  The larger the pearl size, the most lustre the pearl has.  Each type of pearl comes in a variety of sizes.  For example, the freshwater pearls range in size from 3.0 to 7.0 mm.  Akoya pearls range in size from 6.0 to 8.5 mm, and South Sea or Tahitian pearls can be as large as 13 mm.  The larger the pearl, the more lustre it has, so you can choose your bridal jewellery based on your personal taste. 

Cultured freshwater pearls are sometimes dyed yellow, green, blue, brown, pink, purple, or black, and are more and more common in bridal jewellery.  With the advent of coloured wedding gowns, the use of coloured pearls to match the wedding gown is quite popular.  Sometimes, designers will create pearl necklaces which combine a white and a coloured pearl in the design. 

Pearls come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  The typical shapes of natural pearls are round, off round, oval, tear-drop and semi-baroque.  The round pearl is the most rare of all pearls, and therefore costs the most. 

Whether your taste in bridal jewellery is traditional or modern, you can find the perfect design which uses traditional pearls.