Darn Pearls!

Most little girls LOVE jewelry. And I’m one of them.Like other jewelry, my love for pearls goes way back.

One birthday my aunt Kathy gave me a tiny strand of fake pearls. I was delighted and wore them religously for at least 7 years (from about the age of 3 to 10). Sad, I know. Somethings never change, but tastes do mature. After 10, I demanded only “real” jewelry and tucked my tiny strand into my jewelry box never again to see the light of day.
Along these lines, our first married Christmas G gave me my first REAL strand of pearls. I was, surprise, delighted. And, I wore them religously–almost daily–until a few weeks ago. Enter the pearl and hairbrush debocle. Not pretty. G was greeted by a hysterical K and indiviual pearls on the floor (thank goodness they were tied off between).

Now what?

My pearl earrings always break (come unglued), and I always take them in for repair, but I’ve never dealt with restringing a strand of pearls. Some have said that it’s less expensive to buy a new strand all together, but this was a really nice strand and I’d hate to think that restringing would cost so much. Can anyone offer advice from experience?

Moving forward, some of you may know that I’ve been saving for a right hand ring for about a year and a half now (because, according to my wiser friend Genevieve, husbands only give wives their first diamond). I’m saving for a yellow diamond, but at times will waiver and consider less expensive stones like the pearl (because I could buy it in about a 20th of the time). But, it’s been decided once and for all. Pearls are heartbreakers…ours is a love/hate relationship.

[Photo above from happier days in my pearls’ lives…]