Chocolate pearls are part of the new trend in pearl jewelry which is colored pearls. These Tahitian beauties are made by bleaching certain shades of Tahitian black pearls till they become a coppery bronze brown as shown below. Don’t expect to pay any less than $4000 to $25,000 for the Bracelet/ Necklace combo below in bleached Tahitians of about 8mm to 12mm in diameter. What you have to understand is that brown is a staple fashion color. It’s a year-round basic in your woman’s wardrobe and what with all the fashionista whispers of brown being the new black. I’ve heard it on more than a few occasions that dark brown has become a fresh take on the venerable little black dress that we see most women in on formal nights out.

Fresh water pearl manufacturers have also gotten in on the chocolate pearl fashion and have taken their inexpensive white pearls and dyed them various shades of bronze/brown to come up with a more reasonable alternative to the expensive bleached Tahitians.

Technically speaking, dyed pearls constitute treatment whereas bleaching is considered the norm. Nevertheless, I would consider gifting such pearls just to see if she likes the color to begin with. Does it suit her skin tone and style of dress?

You may also wish to consider giving her simple chocolate pearl earring studs of 7mm to 15mm or a simple chocolate drop pearl pendant to get her started on this new color pallet without overdoing it with a full strand.

Combinations of golden green pistachio, bronze/brown, beige, and gray, as shown in the below strand are taking the pearl fashion world by storm in the form of bracelets and necklaces.

This would be the next stage in rounding out her pearl wardrobe assuming she already has the freshwater pinks, oranges, and creams that have been so pre-dominant

We’ve all seen the journey ads right? The one with a couple waking up in the morning and the man pulling out a box with a dazzling diamond journey pendant and presenting it to his special woman who’s lying next to him still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Must’ve been Kays or Zales, I forget.

So the question is, should you get her a journey pendant or a journey something?

I like the concept, you know the whole “our love gets stronger, deeper with every step” type of thing. It’s not too mushy and with a bit of mature significance. After all, we haven’t ripped each other apart in 8 years of marriage.

Yup , this is the time in our marriage when the stress is greatest with the kids all busy, busy, busy and the finances seem to be going nowhere. Oh yeah, and lets start saving for college tuition now.

I’m a little surprised the designers haven’t flipped the design upside down for that half of marriages where it all started out with a bang and the it’s been all downhill ever since.

So men I say to you, “Hell of a journey”, Now Let’s sneak some pacifiers into this equation and get her a journey pendant.

Heck, she knows what it is, it’s only been advertised a quazillion times with that couple in bed as cosy and lovey dovey as their nuptial morning-after. She will “get it”

So What type of journey pendant should I get her??

Good question you non-metro sexual.

Start out by putting some thought into the special occasion if there is one and ask the following questions

1. When was the last time you surprised her with jewelry ?
2. Does this occasion warrant a piece as significant as “journey”?
3. Do I really need an occasion to gift her a journey pendant or earrings?
4. What gaps does she have in her diamond wardrobe?
5. Has she hinted that she would like a diamond piece of some kind? ( Tough one, I can’t even remember the last hint she’s dropped about anything much less jewelry)
6. Is she worth it?
7. How much do I want to spend?

JOURNEY STYLES

The great thing about journey jewelry is that the pieces do look great for any occasion and any budget. The squiggle of inline diamonds blend into each other and the whole piece just shines. This is more the case when the diamonds are mounted in shared prongs (prongs anchoring more than one stone)

Now…, as long as you know that she doesn’t have a journey pendant already, then the pendant would be the way to go. Unless you have clear indication on what style earrings she likes and how they should fit don’t go for journey earrings first.

Why not? Because with earrings you need to think about

• long or short
• dangly or stiff
• french backs or posts
• suppose it doesn’t “sit” right on one ear

You can always follow up with earrings later when you have a better idea after you get her the pendant.
This will also give you time to figure out how many occasions you can get away with combining when you do know the earrings that she would want to match the pendant.

As men, we don’t think too far in advance when it comes to gifting our special women with jewelry, but hey, if you can get more mileage out of a jewelry gift…. why not plan ahead!

Take a look at some of the styles below. The traditional squiggle with round stones in either white gold, platinum, or palladium ia always a safe bet. It looks good on all types of women. Some of the edgy, geometric, circular,antique looking, and other styles may also appeal to her or maybe just plain different from what she’s seen everyone else get.

Check back for part 2 of this topic on “Journey Jewelry for Her” where we’ll explore important things to consider in purchasing a Journey piece for her.

• Quality
• Pricing
• Service
• Purchasing online

Till then Happy jewelry shopping for the Holidays!!

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