Perla Necklace

I did not buy this expecting it to survive much, because a double strand seemed like the sort of thing you wear twice a year to a wedding. Instead it has become my everyday necklace since March and it has been rained on repeatedly, worn through steamy showers more than once, and taken on a very humid week in Savannah. It has also been on through a lot of sweaty gardening afternoons where it sat against damp skin for hours. The gold clasp and the small findings at the ends of each strand are where I expected corrosion to show first. There is nothing on them, no dark spots and no roughness, and both strands still hang and move exactly as they did new. I do dry it off after a real soaking, but that is the extent of the care it gets.

With pearl jewelry the pearls are rarely the problem, it is always the metal that gives it away. Every strand I have owned ended up with a clasp that went dark and coppery within a couple of months while the pearls still looked fine, and that mismatch makes the whole piece look cheap. This one has been worn nearly every day since February, including through perfume, hairspray, lotion, and a lot of sweat at the back of my neck where the clasp sits. It is still the exact same bright gold as the small findings at the front of each strand. I unclasped it and held it under a lamp last week specifically to look for the usual dulling and there was none. My mother borrowed it for an event and asked where I had it restrung, which tells you how it is holding up.

I have a nickel allergy that has kept me out of necklaces for most of my adult life, and the back of my neck reacts within an hour or two every time. A double strand is worse than most because there is more metal at the clasp and more contact overall. This one uses stainless steel findings with nothing that sets me off, which is the only reason I risked wearing it to my niece's wedding. I never took it off afterward and it has been on nearly every day since March, through hot afternoons and workouts where it sat against damp skin. There has not been a single red patch or itch in four months of that. Wearing real pearls every day instead of keeping them in a drawer has been the whole point.

The double strand looks genuinely luxurious and I have had lovely comments on it. It sits closer to the base of my neck than the photos suggested, so I use the extender fully.

Very comfortable and light on the neck. Every so often the two rows cross over and need a quick straighten.

It reads serious and polished for a daytime meeting and then formal enough for a reception that evening. I have done exactly that day twice. No second necklace required.