Serenity Pearls – Exquisite Freshwater Pearls

 

Why pearls?

Most of us appreciate precious stones for their spectacular brilliance. But no other gem is as irresistible as fine pearls. Their quiet warmth and deep lustre are intensely gratifying to look at, and almost hypnotic to touch. There is something deeply mystical about pearls, not least because they are uncut and unshaped by man. Nature has done the work. And it is breathtaking.

 

Many people who love pearls, if they are fortunate, either inherit a much-loved necklace or pair of earrings from an earlier generation, or at some point find their way to a fine jeweller.

 

Cheryl Bevan-Gellor, who has always loved pearls, took a slightly different route. She became a fine jeweller and found her way to China, where she buys the very best-quality freshwater pearls. With them, she creates classic hand-knotted necklaces, pendants and earrings.

 

Why Serenity Pearls?

A Pearls Graduate in 2007 from the Gemological Institute of America, Cheryl launched Serenity Pearls in Victoria, British Columbia, in 2008 for two reasons. First, she has an enduring passion for pearls and wanted to create jewellery with them. Second, she saw a gap in the marketplace: commercial-grade freshwater pearls from China were readily available, but jewellery-grade pearls were not so easy to find. So she went to China in search of the finest.

 

Why Chinese freshwater pearls?

“The finest” Chinese freshwater cultured pearls are round, lustrous, and made of solid nacre (nacre is the pearly substance secreted by mollusks, which we also know as the iridescent mother-of-pearl). And they are stunning. When Cheryl first saw them, she was astonished by how beautiful they were. She knew that those were the pearls she wanted to work with – rare, solid and round. So that’s all she buys: her necklace pearls come from the top 1% of the entire Chinese freshwater harvest. For her earrings and pendants, the quality of each pearl is a small fraction of 1%.

 

A perfect combination

Serenity Pearls is Cheryl’s perfect combination of working with fine pearls and working with people, because she loves teaching about pearls. Certified by the Gemological Institute of America in Pearl and Bead Stringing, she shares her expertise through pearl and bead restringing classes, group and individual pearl-knotting lessons, and information talks. These informal gatherings (known affectionately as “pearl jams”) give Cheryl a chance to talk about how pearls are created, how they are valued, and how to care for them.

 

A self-confessed “non-salesperson,” Cheryl’s passions do the selling for her. “I love to give my pearl talks and educate people about pearls,” she says, “and in doing that, these beautiful pearls pretty much sell themselves.”

 

Learn more

To learn more about Cheryl’s talks and lessons, and her fine Serenity Pearls jewellery, please contact her at 250 382-2261 or cheryl@serenitypearls.ca.