THE MODERN WAY TO WEAR PEARLS

Pearls have spent a century being misunderstood. For a long time they meant one thing: something inherited, worn twice a year, kept for best. A single strand, a certain formality, a whisper of another generation. That pearl still exists, and there is nothing wrong with her. But she is not the only one. The modern pearl is looser, warmer and far more wearable, and she has quietly become one of the most contemporary things a woman can put on.

Here is how we think about pearls in Reflections, and how to wear them now.

Forget the Twinset

The fastest way to modernise a pearl is to strip it of its old context. A pearl worn with tailoring, with a bare neck and a white shirt, with denim, reads completely differently from a pearl worn with occasion dressing. The pearl has not changed. The frame around it has. Try a single Aurora pearl earring against undone hair, or a Nikki pearl bracelet stacked with a fine gold chain at the wrist. The contrast between something organic and something modern is the whole appeal.

Sofia Godinho, Reflections

Mix, Do Not Match

The old rule was that pearls came in matched sets. The new one is the opposite. A pearl earring on one lobe and a small gold hoop on the other. A pearl bracelet layered with a chain, not another pearl bracelet. Pearls mixed with gold rather than kept apart from it. Matching reads formal; mixing reads personal, and personal is the entire register of modern jewellery. Pearls are at their best now as one texture among several, not as a uniform.

Warm Metal Changes Everything

What makes a pearl feel current rather than antique is very often the metal beside it. Set against warm gold, a pearl loses its cool, bridal quality and gains something softer and more sunlit. This is why the pearls in Reflections sit so easily beside the collection's gold pieces: they were designed to be worn together, not chosen instead of each other. A León pearls necklace layered under a fine gold chain is more modern than either piece alone.

Day, Not Just Night

The biggest shift is that the modern pearl is an everyday piece. A pearl stud at a morning desk. A pearl bracelet under a rolled sleeve. Pearls have the rare quality of looking considered without looking dressed up, which makes them ideal for exactly the day-to-night life we describe in our guide to wearing Reflections from day to night. Worn lightly and often, a pearl stops being a special-occasion object and becomes part of how you look, full stop.

One practical note: pearls are living materials, softer and more sensitive than metal, and they reward a little care. Keep them away from perfume and cosmetics, wipe them gently after wear, and store them apart. The full method is in our jewellery care guide. See the pearls, and the rest of the collection, at Reflections.