With this in mind, we would love to ask you one simple question…

[Click here if you cannot see this poll]

We are going to sweeten the deal by making it well worth one very lucky person's time.  We are going to keep this poll open for two weeks and will choose one fortunate pearl girl shortly after to win our upcoming set of multi-color pearl dangle earrings ($75 MSRP) in either our light or dark pearl colors. If you want to enter all you need to do is add your email address along with your vote.  All you need to do is answer a simple question and leave your email if you would like to be entered to win.

Don't worry, we are not going to add you to any mailing lists (although you can subscribe to ours here) and will never share your email address with anyone.  We just plan to use this to let you know if you were the winner!

Best of luck and thanks so much for sharing with us!

So, it was a Friday afternoon in the summer and a good portion of the office was away. Sounded like the perfect opportunity to go on a working trip with the design team to gather some inspiration. While this sounds great in theory, you need to understand that it was 94 degrees in the shade – this is where the ‘work’ part comes in.

Nicole (of Nic’s Picks fame) had told me about a glass show called ‘Infectious Beauty’ going on in the Meatpacking District at Heller Gallery.  In an effort to illustrate a handful of today’s most feared viruses, creator Luke Jerram had clear glass blown mimicking their shapes – sounds strange I know, but the end results were striking!  I adore blown glass (which reminds me of giant beads and stones of course) and was interested to see how something that is usually considered creepy was translated into beauty.

In addition to the art glass, the Meatpacking District is chock full of trendy little boutiques the girls and I could peruse. On our list were Scoop, Jeffrey, & Intermix, for their array of all things trendy.  All carry high end clothing brands and the accessories that go with. You don’t go to W. 14th street without visiting Jeffery’s shrine to shoes! Following my old rule of “if it’s more than your rent you can’t buy it” I tearfully abstained. On our hit list for fashion were DVF, & Stella McCartney. We also ended up visiting the Coach Flagship Store for their excellent handbag hardware and Juicy Couture because I love their charms!

So, what does all of this have to do with pearls??? I’ll tell you, a jewelry designer cannot look at other jewelry alone for inspiration. It is good to get out and about to feed the mind with different images in order to open it up to new possibilities. Ideas come to us not only from 9-5pm Mon-Fri, but when we least expect them to. Riding in a car or on the subway, first thing Saturday morning, in a dream or late at night. Mostly anytime we are relaxed. Creative uses of glass, furniture, shoes or nature can open our mind’s library of images, it helps us to forge creativity and new designs. We love to see what brands outside of the jewelry industry are doing with their accessories. It helps us to design into our new looks if we can visualize what is out there in the market to coordinate with.

Scoop still showed pearls in their bottom vitrine. Mixed with brass chains it gave them an edgy look that would go well with most of the military inspired ready to wear the store was currently showing.

Jeffrey had more jewelry cases than ever!  They focus on designers who stay true to their own personal style (Renee Lewis, Irene Neuwirth, Garrard to name a few) so it’s not so much a place to pick up trend as much as a place to drool on the pristine glass counters at designer diamonds with ridiculous price tags. My idea of a good time!

DVF’s cut rock crystal bracelet for H. Stern relates to 2 different groups we are preparing for the 2011 shows. We loved the asymmetrical cut of her rock crystal as well as her signature knot used throughout the line.

Stella McCartney was kinda dark for a hot summer day. We questioned her head to toe body suit, noticed her pop of teal for fall and admired a very classic trench coat for it’s fine craftsmanship. Ultimately though her bags in the back were best- different materials outlined in tough girl curb chain.

Juicy, as always, did not disappoint on charms! The highlight for us was a turn lock clasp on a link bracelet, as we are always looking for new, cool, easy to use closures.

Coach happened to be celebrating their ‘Poppy’ anniversary. The celebration included free ice cream out in front of the store, to which one designer took a moment to exclaim “We are very lucky!” Poppy’s brights popped on one side of the store and we took a good look at the hardware throughout.

All in all I think we had a productive venture outside the office, so stay tuned to see if our field trip potentially influences the Honora line! I am confident the team can come up with enough unique ideas to ensure that Joel and Ralph do not start questioning the value of “inspirational journeys”!  Let us know what has been catching your attention in the comments section.  Be sure to let us know where you sneak off to in order to find inspiration! Your Girl with the Pearls, Julie.

Hello Honora Fans!  You may know me from Honora’s Facebook page from the Nic’s Pick’s posts where I choose a new color or style that I love every week.  For those of you who may not know me, I’m Nicole!  I work in Honora’s main office and am a big pearl fan.  One of my favorite perks of working here is trying on and playing with all of the newest pearl jewelry that L’array and Julie are creating.  Since you guys seem to enjoy Nic’s Pick’s we thought it was time to take it to the “next level”, so be sure to check back as I will be posting monthly on all things fashion!

Making sure you guys get the most out of your pearls is so important to us here at Honora, so today I want to talk about getting more out of longer pearl necklaces.  If you are like me, versatility is super important and you want to get the most out of the clothes and accessories you buy.  One of my favorite lengths is 54”, I want to show you just some of the many ways this can be worn:

It can be worn once around for a dramatic effect that really elongates the torso.

You can also “double up” longer pearl necklaces, or even triple them for a great layered look.

A fun “throw back” to the 1920’s is taking the pearl rope and knotting it around the midpoint.

If you have a pearl shortener you can torsade a necklace by holding it at both ends and twisting it, and using the shortener to clasp it.

I personally have taken one of these longer pearl necklaces and worn it so it hangs down my back like the famous photograph of Coco Chanel shown at the start of this post.  This was answered by rave reviews from friends at a formal New Years Eve party.

Whatever the look you are going for, whether it’s formal or fashion, longer pearl necklaces are the perfect way to make a statement.  It really doesn’t matter if I am just running errands or going to a gala, I love experimenting with these longer looks.  Let me know what you think in the comments section, which look is your favorite?  Have you tried something I didn’t think of?  Tune in next month or subscribe to The Honora Blog for pearl fashion tips and be sure to check out my weekly Nic’s Pick over on Facebook!

The Cherry Collection

This bold new color of Freshwater Pearls has quickly become our hottest new collection of Pearl Jewelry.  The Cherry Collection has become a “must have” for Pearl Girls who want to make a statement.  Featured in our new “Very Cherry!” ad, our ringed pearls are the clear favorite in this up and coming collection.  You can see all three pieces featured in this advertisement from the New York Times here or visit our collections page to see the entire cherry collection!

The Wildflowers Collection

Spring and Summer pastels are back with Honora’s new Wildflowers Collection!  This assortment of vibrant colors is L’array’s new take on our popular Multi-Pastel necklace that helped kick off the pearl color trend along side our Chocolate and Dark-Multi collections.  This selection is the perfect companion to your favorite summer dress, but still has strong enough colors to work year round.  Check out the baroque pearl necklace featured in our New York Times ad or view the entire Wildflowers Collection of Pearl Jewelry.

The Sunrise Collection

Rise and shine with L’array’s rich color combination of pearl colors including our new favorite, Cherry!  This selection of vivid colors will instantly remind you of the array pink, reds and oranges that we all associate with the rising sun.  We invite you to see the baroque pearl necklace featured in our New York Times Sunrise advertisement or you can view the entire Sunrise Collection here.

You can find all of these collections and more at The Honora Store or at your Local Honora Jeweler.  Let us know which of our latest collections is your favorite as well as what you think of our latest advertisements in the comments section!

One my favorite new pieces from our upcoming "snake-inspired" collection!

Hey Fans and Friends! It’s time for our third get together!  Last blog I teased you with a few new pearl jewelry concepts we are working on.   It only seems fair that I show you some pictures to make sure I get your full attention this time around!  As I mentioned in my previous post, I am seriously distracted by all of the animal prints showing up on the Fall Runways!  With that in mind, I want to give you a peek at our snakeskin themed group today.  I want to call it ‘Upscale’ (get it? Scale?) or we can go with Ralph’s suggestion of the ‘Cobra Collection’.

How about we let you decide! Please let me know your preference for ‘Upscale’ or ‘Cobra’ on the poll at the bottom of this post.

Anyway, as you know from our signature Pallini, Floral and new Cobblestone pearl jewelry collections, Honora is great at producing silver with intricate patterns and textures.  Sometimes we use oxidation to accent these engraved lines and give a lot of depth to the surface, sometimes the background is left matte and the surface shiny to show off the detail.  This time around I thought, “Why don’t we play off fall fashion with a fun texture like they’re showing on the latest boots and bags?”  All kinds of critters have also been popular of late and we chose the snake. Some pieces will just surround one of our unique Freshwater Pearl beauties with a subtle snake skin texture while others are will be a little more illustrative of the creature as a whole with curving sterling tails and garnets for eyes.

A sneak peak at some of the designs you can expect from this new collection!

Okay, okay, I know some of you are squeamish about these fabulous reptiles. I can just hear my mother recoiling as she reads this latest installment! The truth is the snake really gets a bad rap.  He has suffered from bad publicity since he showed up uninvited in Adam and Eve’s garden, and convinced Eve to eat the fruit of the forbidden Tree of Knowledge. Really, does one deceitful creature ruin things forever for the entire species?!  Aside from that tragic story the snake has been known in different cultures around the world as a symbol of fertility, birth, and eternity. He’s  been linked to Mother Earth, credited for sustainable crops and has often stood for wisdom.  A pretty impressive resume, huh?

We hope we’ve done this infamous reptile some justice (and maybe even helped to improve their reputation) by pairing him with our beloved pearls. The collection of pearl jewelry has something for everyone (we hope!) in that it offers subtle hints of skin for a more conservative customer to over the top fashion coil bracelets for those daring ladies who appreciate making a statement.  I hope you’ve enjoyed this sneak peak, let me know in the comments and I just might show you guys some more next month!  Don’t forget to vote in the poll below for the collection name, I need your help to get my name over Ralph’s!  If you have a better suggestion, please leave it in the comments section for us to debate.  Thanks as always for indulging me.

Your Girl with the Pearls,
Julie

While we always do our best to help you to learn more about Freshwater Pearls, nothing beats hearing it directly from our CEO, Joel Schechter.  Joel was one of the first to see the potential in these astounding Cultured Pearls back when they were only available in the small low quality shapes we lovingly called “Rice Crispies”.  This video is a little longer than the Honora TV episodes that we usually post , but we wanted to offer you the same video that we created for our retail partners to help them to better understand what goes into creating our pearl jewelry.

If you have 8 minutes to spare,  Joel can teach you a lot about the qualities that draw everyone here at Honora to Freshwater Cultured Pearls.  He helps you to understand everything from how these pearls are grown, to learning about the pearl colors and even takes you behind-the-scenes at a Freshwater Pearl Farm in China.  Joel even goes out of his way to explain why these pearls are so affordable.  It is a true beginners course that focuses entirely on Freshwater and a must watch for anyone who truly loves these astounding gemstones!

If you prefer text, you can also check out our Freshwater Pearls Made Simple series (new posts coming soon!), it is a great way to get to know these pearls a little at a time.  We hope you enjoy the video and feel free to leave any questions you might have in the comments section.  We will be sure to answer them here or in future posts!  We would also appreciate it if you would let us know what you thought of this video.  Is this something you would like to see more of here on The Honora Blog?

As those of you who received our monthly newsletter already know, almost everyone in the office is working frantically on the annual trade show in Las Vegas. It’s the countdown to JCK and the whole industry is scrambling to wrap up their new collections and to unveil them to the world.  The Design department, on the other hand, is a very different story.  While everyone else is focused on the now, we are already living in the future working out collections for 2011! It should be nice and quiet here next week…

What will be different at Honora next year? While we are just starting to work on this, I can tell you that we are looking to infuse more metal into the line alongside our popular pearl color mixes.  The past few years we have focused on creating our exclusive colored pearls, now we are ready to take this to the next level.  One of our thoughts for 2011 are to expand upon the popularity of these strands by adding sterling silver designs and gemstones to differentiate the line.

Just to get you thinking, here is what what we’re inspired by so far….

• Honora’s heritage: learning all about the company is inspiring me to design a collection that celebrates Honora’s history in the industry, we are after all heading into our 64th year!  Retire at 65?!  I think not!  We are just getting started!  The goal of this signature collection is to take traditional Honora elements that you know and love and present them in a fresh way.  Think modern classic.
• I don’t know about you, but I am absolutely crazy for Coin pearls! What a sophisticated shape! I love how smooth they are and how they lay perfectly flat against the skin. We are toying with the idea of complimenting these unique beauties with coordinating semi precious stones.
• Summer’s coming and I know I should be out looking for deals on swimwear, but the magazines are already showing Fall runway and I can’t help but be inspired by the wild new accessories! Croco, python, leopard, oh my!  I have a sneaking suspicion that something sexy will slither its way into Honora for 2011. These luxury materials easily translate to exciting new textures for sterling (& way more animal friendly in case you were worried!)
• There’s no time like Honora time! Never miss Ralph and Joel on QVC again! The girls and I are are working to make Honora one to “watch” as the design team plays up some ideas that really “tick”!

Ok, that’s enough top secret info for the moment.  Let me know which of these concepts you are most excited to see come to life in the comments section.  Perhaps I can arrange a sneak peek next month… tune in next time!  Your Girl with the Pearls – Julie

I grew up in Brooklyn, New York (Canarsie to be exact) and started making jewelry at a young age. My family belonged to the Seaview Pool for 3 years, all of which I hated- except for 5pm when the day camp would close and I would scrounge around under their picnic tables and find beads that dropped into the sand. I would collect them, take them home and wash them off, then sort them in Hot Wheels carrying cases- quite a process! Not only did that keep me busy for hours (when I could have been fighting with my brother) I was also producing stuff my mom would wear, so she was pretty happy!

I first heard of the High School of Art & Design through a friend’s older brother, I knew I had to go there! No, it’s not “the Fame school” (Laguardia) there was no dancing in the hallways- just design.  My best friend Renee introduced me to Sculpey modeling compound and Canal Street plastics.  I was making jewelry out of acrylic and beads as well as keys, bottle caps, nail polish, nuts and bolts from my dad’s garage- anything that wasn’t nailed down.  After graduating A&D as an illustration major I entered Syracuse University’s Metalsmithing program. I learned soldering, casting, wax carving and other bench working basics as well as doing a semester abroad in Florence.

I began working right after college for a few family run businesses like Erickson Beamon, Robert Rose, and Michael Anthony. I then started working for larger companies and designed for Nine West Jewelry and Avon. I can definitely say my varied experiences in different facets of the industry have led me to the right place- here with you!

I look forward to blogging with you on a monthly basis. I would like to use this platform to preview new ideas and get your (honest) feedback. I’ll also be giving you a behind the scenes account of what we’re working on, inspiration we’ve found, upcoming shows and places we’ve gone all in the name of pearls! Most importantly our conversations will keep you up to date with what’s coming next for Honora (before all the other kids see it!!!) and keep me up to date with what you really want from Honora. Please be encouraged to leave requests in the comments section, I promise I will read them!

See you next month!  Your Girl With the Pearls, Julie

A wide range of natural colors and shapes will grow in the same mollusk.

This is part of the Freshwater Pearls Made Simple series where we offer short posts to demystify this unique variety of Cultured Pearls.  Be sure to visit our post on Confusing Words You Need to Know if some of these terms are unfamiliar.

While we will be sure to explain many of these in their own posts, we wanted to take a second to highlight some of the features that set Freshwater Pearls apart from other varieties of Cultured Pearls.

More Pearls Per Mollusk – Traditional Akoya and South Sea mollusks offer one (occasionally two) pearls at a time using the bead nucleation process where Freshwater Pearl mollusks can offer nearly 40 pearls at a time using the newer tissue nucleation process for cultivating pearls.

More Pearl Colors – Freshwater Pearls offer the widest range of naturally occurring colors.  You will often find White, Peach, Pink, Plum and Purple pearls side by side in the same mollusk.

More Pearl Shapes – The combination of a smaller nucleus, more pearls and larger mollusks has created several new and popular shapes including buttons, baroque, ringed and near round pearls.  Position within the mollusk will often go a long way towards determining the shape.

More Pearl Sizes – Larger mollusk sizes along with the newer tissue nucleation process for cultivating pearls offers the widest range of sizes spanning 4MM to 18MM.

More Pearl Nacre – Using tissue from small mollusks instead of mother-of-pearl beads to start pearl growth creates a cultured pearl that is over 90% nacre, the closest to naturally occurring pearls.

More Affordable Prices – The combination of more pearls per mollusk, no mother-of-pearl bead and a wider range of shapes has helped make Freshwater Pearls the best value in Cultured Pearls.

We hope this helps you get a better feeling for what makes Freshwater Pearls a unique and exceptional value in the pearl world.  Let us know if you have any questions in the comments section.  We will be sure to answer them there or add them to future Freshwater Pearls Made Simple posts.

A Freshwater Cultured Pearl Farm

This is part of the Freshwater Pearls Made Simple series where we offer short posts to demystify this unique variety of Cultured Pearls.  Visit our post on Confusing Words You Need to Know if some of the terms used below are unfamiliar.

For the sake of keeping things simple, we are going to break Cultured Pearls down into the three main varieties you will see mentioned throughout this series.

Akoya Pearls – Known as the traditional pearl, Akoya Pearls are grown in salt water in Japan and China.  Each pearl is grown inside of a small mollusk, using a round mother-of-pearl bead as a nucleus to ensure a round pearl and are almost always white in color.  They are small to medium pearls, ranging from 4MM to 10MM in size and each mollusk will only grow one or two pearls in its lifetime.  While top Akoya Pearls are extremely expensive and have fine luster, we often find that the middle and lower quality of pearls can be dull or chalky due to an insufficient coating of nacre, which is usually less than 10% natural pearl growth.

South Sea and Tahitian Pearls – Using a similar mother-of-pearl bead nucleation, these larger Cultured Pearls are grown one pearl per mollusk in giant oysters in South Sea countries such as Australia, Indonesia and of course, Tahiti.  These larger mollusks allow for some of the largest pearl sizes spanning 9MM-20MM with a much higher nacre thickness than Akoya at about 15-20%.  This category of pearls are the hardest (and therefore most expensive) to grow in high quality as large pearls have a higher mortality rate and more surface area which can become blemished.  The South Sea Pearls are found in various shades of white as well as gold colors and the Tahitian pearls offer a range of natural blacks and gray.  Both categories offer a range of shapes from round, baroque and drop pearls.

Freshwater Pearls – While we will cover this in depth in our next post, this remarkable variety of pearls offers the widest ranges of natural colors, shapes and sizes, spanning 4MM to 18MM.  With over 90%, they have the highest nacre content of any nucleated Cultured Pearl and can grow up to 40 pearls at a time in one mollusk using a newer process for cultivating pearls called tissue nucleation.  The ability to grow multiple pearls per mollusk is a major factor in making Freshwater Pearls one of the best values in pearl jewelry.

Now that you know the three main varieties of Cultured Pearls, we plan to focus in on Freshwater from here on out.  If you have any questions on the other varieties of Cultured Pearls, let us know in the comments section and check back soon for an in depth look at Freshwater Pearls.