These pearls were my grandmother’s, then my mother’s and now mine.  I don’t know if I ever heard how gramma came to them — a gift to her from her second husband perhaps, or something she treated herself to on her grand European tour?  I do remember her wearing them and looking the epitome of glamorous with the furs, the silk headscarves worn just so and the heeled specatator pumps.

I was thrilled when my mother gave them to me sometime in my 40s.  She took them back though, which was a bit crushing, and before they came to me again, on her death a few years ago, she’d had them restrung into two strands hanging from a rather beautiful emerald clasp.

Watercolour painting of a strand of cream pearls on a white background, it has an emerald green clasp.

I immediately had them restrung back as a single strand as my grandmother wore them, but kept the clasp.

watercolour painting of a strand of pearls with an emerald clasp.

They don’t get out enough — I don’t wear a lot of jewelry and they have a tendency to get caught on things when I bend over — but I love the way they glow and wink and ever so gently click in my fingers.  I expect my mother and my grandmother did too.

One of my favourite things. OOMFT.