Curator's Notes
Empowered Pearl Collection
Not so long ago, pearls were destined to become treasures of the past.
For thousands of years, right up to the generation just before my own grandparents, pearls were rare. Rare as can be.
Retrieving them took the tireless and skillful work of incredible humans. Real life human mermaids that would steadfastly brave the waters to dredge up thousands and thousands of pearls to retrieve that one precious Pearl, let alone a matching strand.
At the rate it was going? Pearls would soon be unheard of. They’d be destined only for wealthy collectors, or perhaps even museums. They were to become reminders of a past long gone.
Around the time my grandparents were born, the history of pearls took a major turn.
Innovation abounded. A small number of determined, ambitious people took it upon themselves to revolutionise the pearl industry. They set out to achieve the impossible: To create pearls for themselves. Not fake plastic or glass imitations. Real pearls.
Many would have thought the endeavour was crazy.
Yet they succeeded indeed.
By the 1920s? The Pearl industry had changed forever.
Today, pearls are not only still around, but readily available. From accessible freshwater pearls in silver jewellery, right through to exquisite south sea varieties in high end jewellery. None of this would be possible without the extraordinary people before us that defied all odds.
The modern Pearl is tangle proof that what's impossible can indeed become possible.
Many associate pearls as symbols of innocence, purity, and love. All these are beautiful sentiments. For me, however, the pearl is more badass than that. It represents the generations of rule breakers and changemakers that came before us.
May your very own Empowered Pearl piece be your tangible reminder that anything is possible.
Collection Curator
P.S. For every piece purchased from the Empowered Pearl Collection, $1 supports modern day changemakers SpinalCure Australia on their quest to make the impossible truly possible for those with spinal cord injuries.
