Precious pearls
We are paying special attention to pearls in this issue, with eight fabulous jewelry projects putting them to use plus a helpful guide (p. 18) to build your pearly knowledge. All of which has me thinking about what these luminescent beauties have meant to me over the years. As a little girl, pearls were a sign of being grown up. My mom loved pearl jewelry — though I suspect it wasn’t “real,” or she might not have let me play dress-up with her clip-ons and strands. And of course anyone in my cohort remembers first lady Barbara Bush’s signature multi-strand pearls. In those days they were shorthand for refinement and poise. Then Madonna burst on the scene with her racy, lacy look. It was all about mesh midriff tops, rubber bangles, chains…
