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New Book Aims to be the Definitive Guide to Pearls
Slated to come out in October, The Pearl Necklace recounts the gem’s most iconic moments.
The Pearl Necklace, with text by Vivienne Becker, will be released by publisher Assouline in October. Pictured is a Mikimoto Akoya and South Sea white and golden cultured pearl necklace with diamonds, designed to resemble a luxurious stole, from 2011. (Image courtesy of Assouline)
New York--It doesn’t get much more classic than a pearl necklace.
The Pearl Necklace, a new coffee table book from Assouline, features more than 200 images and illustrations of the gemstone throughout history.
Pearls make an appearance in ancient paintings like Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus and modern-day fashion photographs of celebrities such as Grace Kelly. Strands of pearls are pictured gracing the necks of royalty and flappers, socialites and artists, even a member of Andy Warhol’s famous Factory.
The book also includes renderings of intricate pearl designs, like a multi-strand collar of multiple-sized pearls that culminates in a large egg-shaped tanzanite stone.
Several designs from Mikimoto illustrate the pages of The Pearl Necklace; the multi-strand ropes of pearls draped across the book’s cover model are from the influential pearl house.
An essay by jewelry author and historian Vivienne Becker, author of titles such as The Impossible Collection of Jewelry, give context to this amalgamation of pearls’ best visual cameos in human adornment. Her essay recounts the enduring popularity of the gem, a favorite of women as disparate as Cleopatra and Martha Washington.
The Pearl Necklace will be available on Assouline.com beginning in October.
Tabitha Vevers, Pearlmaker VI, 2011; oil and gold leaf on oyster shell
© Tabitha Vevers, Collection of The New Britain Museum of American Art, Connecticut
© Tabitha Vevers, Collection of The New Britain Museum of American Art, Connecticut
Design sketch of a Mikimoto Akoya cultured pearl necklace with tanzanite and diamond, 2014
© Mikimoto
© Mikimoto
To make a pearl necklace, Mikimoto’s experts assess each pearl by size, shape, color and luster, handling each one hundreds of times. Strict matching requirements ensure that pearls adjacent to one another share the same beautiful luster to create an exquisite harmony at the neckline.
© Mikimoto
© Mikimoto
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