How Do You Style Pearls?

There is more than one way to wear pearls. Here is what the sources say about lengths, colors and shapes, how fashions have changed, and the etiquette that once governed them.

Choose a length#

Necklaces come in standard lengths with names of their own, from the collar, 25 to 33 cm, and the choker to the princess, matinee and opera lengths, the sautoir and the rope, about 115 cm and longer.³ The page necklace lengths gives each one, and the necklace length guide names any length you enter.

Match or mix#

The classic strand is matched. For most pearl strands, earrings and other jewelry with several pearls, the pearls should match in all the quality factors, though jewelry designers sometimes mix colors, shapes and sizes on purpose.²

Mixing is an option too. Although single-color strands are still the most common, GIA suggests mixing pearl colors and origins as a fresh way to wear pearls, and notes that multicolored strands often contain rare colors, because it is too hard to find enough of them for a whole strand.¹ The table shows the natural colors and shapes of each main type in the Learn About Pearls dataset.

Beyond the strand#

Strands are only one choice. Cultured pearls are made into bead necklaces and bracelets, and set singly, in pairs or in clusters in earrings, rings and pendants. Larger pearls with unusual shapes are popular with creative jewelry designers.¹¹ Well-formed baroque pearls are prized as well as round ones.²

How pearl fashions have changed#

Fashions in pearls have changed over the centuries. The V&A’s 2013 exhibition on pearls described how 18th-century celebrities such as Marie Antoinette and Catherine the Great wore opulent pearls in swags or as multiple strands and chokers, and it featured the fashionable sautoirs of the 1920s.¹⁶

Etiquette, then and now#

Old etiquette had rules about pearls. In 1922 Emily Post wrote that jewelry in deepest mourning was never in good taste, with the exception of a small string of pearls and a single ring.⁵ Pearls also appear in mourning jewelry: the V&A showed a pendant locket with a black pearl commemorating Prince Albert, from 1862.¹⁶

Post also set rules for men: real pearl shirt studs were correct for full evening dress only.⁵ The page pearls for men has more.

Wearing pearls every day#

Pearls are soft, rating 2.5 to 3.0 on the Mohs scale, so a little care keeps them looking good.⁴ Put them on after perfume, hair products and cosmetics, wipe them with a soft, damp cloth after wearing, and store them apart from other gems and metal jewelry.⁴ Pearls that are worn often should be restrung once a year.¹⁷ The care section explains more.