Dear Calla – Looking for Something to Compliment my Pearl

Dear Calla,

I have this cool abalone odd shaped pearl/shell piece that my fisherman boyfriend gave me. It’s shaped a little oddly, but still cool. I’ve talked to a couple of jewelers about making a pendant out of it with small diamonds around it, but diamonds don’t really compliment it well. So it sits, unset, and my boyfriend asks when I’m going to wear it. How do I make it pretty and make it “me?”

Abalone Pearl-ishly Challenged

Dear Pearl-ishly Challenged,

There was a similar challenge with my client Lori’s Yowah Opal. We loved the subtle fire running through it in thin little rivers. White diamonds around it, just overwhelmed it and made it look less special.

I’ve been a fan of alternative colors of diamonds and thought softer champagne diamonds might be just the thing. They looked better, but we weren’t there yet. So I thought if we added black rhodium around the diamonds that would tone down the metal’s shine.

We used the black rhodium and it showed the soft color of the diamonds and the fire in the Yowah Opal nicely.

That might work for your abalone pearl piece. It’d give you some diamond sparkle without being over the top and overshadowing your center gift from your honey.

Your Personal Jeweler,

Calla