"Before Berj Zavian, jewelry consultant to Doyle New York, explains how to distinguish between a natural pearl and a cultured one; before he tells you how to select one; before he provides pearl preservation advice; he wants you to put your pearl between your teeth. That's right, between your two front teeth. Berj does it all the time."
Natural vs. cultured—can you tell the difference? Learn more with a whole string of tips from the ROADSHOW's guru of pearls.
"Customers say, 'What is he doing putting dirty pearls in his mouth?' " Berj notes. What he's doing is using his teeth to feel whether a pearl's surface is gritty, meaning it's a natural or a cultured pearl that a clam or oyster has worked on; or slippery, meaning it's a chintzy plastic imitation pearl.
Berj has been testing and playing with pearls for nearly half a century. In the 1950s, Berj designed pearled animal brooches with his father, Carney Zavian. Soon after, a Frenchman taught Berj how to "peel" pearls—the act of rubbing a new finish on a mottled or pocked pearl ("I don't teach that to anyone," says Berj says of his proprietary skill). About a quarter-century ago "a little old German woman" taught him how to string single pearls into full-length necklaces, and since that time, pearls have become the bedrock of his business.
"What can you always give a girl?" Berj asks rhetorically. Answer: "Pearls." So when it comes to pearls of wisdom about these orbed organic wonders, we knew Berj was the one to ask. Here's what he told us."
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/tips/pearls.html
" cultural Clash...Pearls says Emily Holt are far beyond prim."
Featured in Vogue Aug 2013 pg 104-106. " Fall is about bucking expectations-streetwise fur, refined grunge for a new generation, and an old classic's new twist"
PEARLS BEFORE 5 PM
DF
via DF
Yurman lariat white and gray pearl bracelet
$275
via DF
Lulu Frost drop costume pearls
$45
