Akoya or freshwater? How to tell them apart
Lustre, shape and price: three things to look at when two white strands look the same (sample).
Pearls chosen one by one, strung by hand
Akoya, freshwater, Tahitian and South Sea pearls, knotted and finished in the workshop above the shop on Harbour Lane (sample).
Akoya
Saltwater, 6–9 mm. Round and white with a rose overtone: the sharpest mirror lustre.
Farmed in Japan
Freshwater
Lake and river farmed, 4–8 mm. Cream, white and pastel, softer lustre, the gentlest prices.
Farmed in China
Tahitian
Saltwater, 8–14 mm. Natural graphite, green and peacock tones, never dyed.
Farmed in French Polynesia
South Sea
Saltwater, 9–16 mm. White to deep gold, thick nacre and a satin glow.
Farmed in Australia and Indonesia
Each pearl in the badges is drawn to scale at its type’s usual top size, in its natural colour.
Since 1998 (sample)
A small pearl house with a workshop upstairs
Harbour Lane Pearls (sample) buys pearls by the strand from farms we know, sorts them by hand and knots every necklace in the workshop above the shop.
Come in to look, to ask, or to bring a strand that belonged to someone before you.
We knot between every pearl. If the silk ever breaks, you lose one pearl, not the whole strand.
The stringer’s note
4
pearl types, all farmed
4–16 mm
from seed pearls to South Sea
7 days
to restring a necklace (sample)
1998
first strand knotted here (sample)
Pieces in the case this month
Every piece carries its grading line: the pearl type, the size in millimetres and the grade, from AAA (the finest lustre and surface) to A.
Example prices. Every piece can be seen at the counter before you decide.
The collection
Strands, studs and drops for every day
Classic strands, pendants, bridal sets, earrings and rings, in all four pearl types. Most pieces can be shortened, lengthened or re-clasped while you wait.
Visit the shop
The shop is small and quiet. Walk in to look at the cases, or book a viewing and we lay out the pieces you want to see on a white card, under daylight lamps.
The shop
14 Harbour Lane, Springfield (sample)
Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00–18:00
The workshop
Upstairs at number 14 (sample)
Restringing drop-off at the counter
Book a private viewing
Phone
Address
14 Harbour Lane, Springfield (sample)
Three pairs of hands behind every strand
One person buys the pearls, one sorts and matches them, one knots them on silk. You will meet at least two of them at the counter (sample).
Lena Ortiz
Owner and pearl buyer (sample)
Mia Chen
Sorting and matching (sample)
Ruth Adler
Stringer, 22 years at the bench (sample)
The workshop
Restringing from $60, back in a week
Pearls are strung on silk, and silk stretches. Bring in any strand, ours or not: we check every pearl, knot it on new silk, add a clasp if it needs one and post it back or keep it at the counter.
Words from customers
What people tell us when they come back to the counter.
My grandmother’s strand had been in a drawer for twenty years. It came back knotted, cleaned and with a new clasp, and nothing about it felt changed.
Sample customer
Restringing, spring (sample)
I asked about studs for my wedding and left knowing why one pair cost three times the other. We chose the cheaper ones, and they were perfect.
Sample customer
Bridal studs, summer (sample)
From the journal
How to choose pearls, how we string them and how to keep them bright.
Why we tie a knot between every pearl
It takes longer and uses more silk. Here is why every necklace in the shop is knotted (sample).
Last on, first off: keeping pearls bright
Five habits that keep a strand looking the way it did on the first day (sample).