Pearls Before Swine, Diamonds, Rubies, or Sapphires~

Pearls Before Swine, Diamonds, Rubies, or Sapphires~

Many women lust for diamonds. I can’t tell you how many women I’ve met who aspire to have the biggest diamond ring a fiancé’ can afford or crave eye-popping diamond stud earrings as a sign of success or love.  But my gem of choice is the lustrous, luminous, classic, iridescent, magical pearl – that jewel that begins its life as an irritant within the live oyster and emerges perfectly ready to be set into earrings, a ring or strung into on a silk thread to create a necklace or bracelet of incomparable beauty.

From my childhood I’ve been drawn to pearls. For my 10^th birthday my dad took me to the local jewelry store downtown and let me pick out a ring. My birthstone is the ruby. But I was drawn to pearls. So my dad bought me a pearl ring set in 10K gold with a ruby on each side. I kept it for years until I gifted it to my niece, hoping she would treasure it as I had.

During my 20’s and 30’s I wore pearls and gold almost exclusively. My former husband gave me some spectacular strands of pearls for various occasions and while I lived in Hong Kong I indulged myself by purchasing some lovely rings and earrings. I celebrated my passion for pearls by wearing them almost daily. But after my divorce, I let them sit in a drawer, in a bag in the dark, resisting the lure of their beauty because of a perceived negative association.   I brought them out and wore them only for a special occasion, but I forgot the joy that wearing them daily could bring. I tended to wear inexpensive costume jewelry. Until one day I decided to wear a double strand choker of pink baroque pearls that filled my heart with joy. They’d been neglected for so long the string suffered dry rot and they broke. The pearls scattered all over the bedroom floor. I was bereft. What had I done to these beautiful treasures?

Fortunately, I discovered a Chinese jeweler had moved into the local mall, took them in and had them restrung. (Yes, I have a particular affinity for the talents of Chinese jewelers). I realized that these gorgeous inanimate objects continued to give me pleasure and repelled the negativity that other gifts from a former love might harbor. The soft glow from this most precious of gems shed a light that only glowed with positivity. And I knew that I could continue to wear these gifts from my past without negative connotation. The pearls are pure.

So I began wearing pearls again on a regular basis. I rediscovered the joy of wearing the reflected light of these soft, light infused treasures. All other gems are now lost to me. I’ve returned to my roots. Back to the pearl that I first came to love in my childhood. I’ve come home.