pearl necklace question .
Q.A friend wants to get a strand of pearls for their daughter's graduation, we were discussing different aspects of pearls. Size, quality, color etc. I know we have some gem experts here or at least pearl lovers. For a classic, keep forever strand of pearls what do you recommend? Is one size better than others?
A.They may want to do some very serious research before investing in pearls for a young girl. I was told by a reputable jeweler that pearls, unlike all other precious jewelry except opals, do not maintain their quality with simple care. As the ads say, *diamonds* are forever. Pearls apparently lose color and luster over time. I imagine that good/great pearls maintain their quality longer than crummy ones, but that's not a real selling point for me. FWIW, I have diamond solitaire earrings that are bezel set in white gold euro-wires (plus a matching bezel set stud for my 3rd hole). My mother had these made for me a couple of years ago and I find that I wear them almost every day. I've never had such comfortable earrings, and I definitely consider them to be "keep forever". Five thousand dollars would certainly buy a super nice set of earrings like that--and if the daughter ever tires of them, she can have them reset into other jewelry, making them much more versatile than pearls. A $5,000 strand of cultured pearls is either going to be something you could only wear to the Oscars or a big ripoff, though. $5,000 *worth* of cultured pearls, even fine-quality ones, is going to be something too spectacular for anything except black-tie events.
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