The Cultured Pearl Information Center’s Tahitian Holiday Gift 2000 Preview-sponsored by the official Tahitian government promotional agency-was held at Guastavino’s, one of Manhattan’s trendiest midtown eateries. The luncheon, which hosted accessories editors from top consumer fashion and lifestyle magazines, featured some of the edgiest, trendiest, and most fashion-conscious Tahitian pearl jewelry seen to date. And judging by the reactions of both designers and editors, it’s just the direction Tahitian pearl designers should be taking.

Among the emerging trends are faceted pearls and jewelry that mixes Tahitian pearls with metals and other materials. Coleman Douglas Pearls and Jordan Schlanger mixed semiprecious stones with pearls in multi-strand necklaces. Katey Brunini and Gurhan combined pearls with the season’s hot metal-gold-and Jennifer Jiunta showed delicate classics in platinum and peacock-colored pearls. The funkiest look of the group, however, came from Tahiti Perles, which showed pearls set in colorful resin in a water lily motif.