In Case You Missed It: Seminar on Pearl Jewelry Designs You Should Be Selling

If you couldn’t make it to the “Pearls & Fashion” seminar on Thursday, Feb. 6, at AGTA GemFair Tucson 2014, highlights of the presentation are below. (If you want the full Powerpoint file—containing more than 30 different jewelry designers who excel in making compelling pearl pieces—email me at jheebner@jckonline.com.)

I presented this talk in collaboration with my good friend Kathy Grenier, who is the marketing director of the Cultured Pearl Association of America and of Imperial Pearl in Providence, R.I. We share a love of pearls and hoped our joint seminar would inspire others to better see and appreciate the beauty and value that pearls offer the jewelry retailer, and become aware of some of the incredibly talented designers using pearls in innovative ways. For her part, Kathy—whose background includes merchandising and sales—set up beautiful and unique displays for the pearl jewelry she pulled for the talk, and shame on me because I failed to photograph them! Sorry, readers!

The styles featured here are from a variety of vendors whom I’ve met at shows or during market visits in New York City, stumbled upon while doing online research, or have learned about through Brooke Magnaghi, the stylist we work with on JCK’s photo shoots. Know of someone else who should be on our radar? Please do weigh in via the comments function.

Pearl jewelry from Hector Hassey