Queen Elizabeth I is said to be one of the best-known lovers of pearls and always wore seven ropes of pearls that reached to her knees.
Actress Elizabeth Taylor owns the largest and most important pearl in the world. It is called La Peregrina and is more than 400 years old. The white pear-shaped pearl originally arrived hanging on a delicate chain of small pearls. A gift from husband Richard Burton, it was originally given to queen-to-be Mary Tudor of England by her future husband, Prince Phillip of Spain.
Forty years after Chanel made the gems popular, Audrey Hepburn showcased her elegance and effortless style in pearls in the classic film "Breakfast at Tiffany's." The six-strand pearl and rhinestone necklace in the film is faux, but those imitation pearls cascaded gorgeously on Hepburn's graceful neck.
Princess Diana's ivory silk gown had a 25-foot train decorated with 10,000 pearls and sequins.
Video of Elizabeth Taylor Endorsing Black Pearls Perfume
by Richard Bassett
(YouTube Video)
Since the first video I posted here is no longer available, I've put on this tribute to Liz Taylor....lovely photos of her.
Both of these video clips are indicative of the work that Dame Elizabeth Taylor involved herself with in 1996 and 1987... with the enormously successful fragrances 'Black Pearls' (1996) and 'Passion' (1987).
This business adventure remained close to her heart throughout the years. She not only endorsed her fragrances, she created them as well. For Dame Elizabeth, it was not enough just to attach her name to a product, she had to become connected to it, personally.
And the result? Pure success.
This woman of heart and soul never just floated through life, she put her life experiences into the core of the issues that she has supported and became a household word in another more humanity oriented form from that of being a film actress.
She has had her own reputation to overcome in taking on these causes and only she was able to supersede the glamorous movie star Elizabeth Taylor image and become the incredible human service directed Elizabeth Taylor that she is today.
As she was her own competition, she excelled and continues to exceed.
She's always been creative. Davis could not read or write — she was barely 4 — when she got her first taste of earning a profit with words.
Her parents wanted to enter a contest put on by a jewelry store in their hometown of Akron, Ohio. The challenge: Name a water nymph on a beach at sunrise holding a lustrous pearl.
"I looked at the picture and said, 'A virgin pearl?' Certainly, I knew what a pearl was but not the word virgin," she says.
Her spontaneous creativity earned second prize in the contest, a $15 add-a-pearl necklace that she still has in its original off-white, padded box. She wore the necklace as a child, as did her children. And she kept on working with words.
Comparisons with Jackie launched a thousand articles, blogs and websites. The dress! The hair! My goodness, even the pearls!
Even the pearls . . . already recognized as a Mrs. Obama signature. Though not the ladies-who-lunch little pearls. No, no. Michelle’s pearls, unlike Jackie’s, were women-who-rule pearls. Great big deal-with-me pearls. Pearls that were an integral part of an “image strategy,” as André Leon Talley, Vogue’s Editor-at- Large, called Michelle’s look.
“Why are people so interested in what I wear?” Jackie Kennedy once asked a friend.
Hats and opera gloves might have been dispensed with, but like first ladies of the past, pearls are Mrs. Obama's favorite adornment, only Michelle Obama admires pearls, both real and paste, of every size shape and color.
Pearls and other 'gems' make up her 'important', sometimes whimsical brooches, which like Jacqueline Kennedy, she sometimes wears in unusual ways.
But Michelle Obama like Mrs. Roosevelt also was fond of exotic and unusual jewels like jet or jade beads.
A mysterious pearl necklace that may have once belonged to Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, will be auctioned off by Bonhams in New York in December. Automotive billionaire Horace Elgin Dodge purchased the necklace from Cartier in Paris in 1920 for his wife Anna Thomson Dodge at the astonishing price of $825,000 - about $8 million in today's dollars.
The original Cartier invoice states that the "five row pearl necklace, consisting of 389 pearls weighing 4305 grains" was accompanied by an "enamel clasp representing Catherine, Empress of Russia" and "two diamond alternate clasps." Several newspaper accounts from the '20s suggested that the pearls did indeed once belong to Catherine; Anna Thomson Dodge's heirs maintain that Horace bought the pearls from Cartier on that basis.
Black Dress, White Pearls Shine in First Lady's Portrait
First lady Michelle Obama is wearing a black, sleeveless dress and white pearls in her official portrait, which was unveiled Friday by the White House.
The first lady's photo was taken earlier this month by White House photographer Joyce N. Boghosian in the Blue Room of the White House.
Queen Elizabeth will give her annual Christmas speech on TV at 3PM, Christmas Day. Often she has worn her favorite three strands of pearls that go with everything. They were worn with yellow in her first broadcast in 1957 when she was only 31 and queen for five years, with light blue in another and magenta in another. Maybe seeing the queen in these traditional, expensive pearls gives her subjects comfort....or maybe they give her comfort.
In 2002, the year of the Golden Jubilee, the Queen wore turquoise and the reliable three stands of pearls once again.
In 2003, the Queen repeated a prayer from St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits:
Teach us good Lord
To serve thee as thou deservest;
To give, and not to count the cost;
To fight, and not to heed the wounds;
To toil, and not to seek for rest.
To labour, and not to ask for any reward;
Save that of knowing that we do thy will.
"It is this knowledge," the Queen concluded, "which will help us all to enjoy the Festival of Christmas."
Seach KariPearls under "People" and "Places" for my review of the movie, "The Queen", about Queen Elizabeth, and for my visit to the Buckingham palace pearl shop.
The wearing of pearls is steeped in history and tradition. Style masters, celebrities and other famous women have influenced today's world of fashion. Pearls have proven themselves a safe political choice for former first lady Barbara Bush, who often wore a three-strand short necklace, and current first style icon Michelle Obama, photographed in an oversized strand of pearls.
The Tiffany pearl bracelet, earrings, necklace and brooch given to Mary Todd Lincoln by President Abraham Lincoln on his first inauguration reside in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Queen Elizabeth I is said to be one of the best-known lovers of pearls and always wore seven ropes of pearls that reached to her knees.
NEW YORK — Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama are at opposite ends of the style spectrum. McCain is very proper in brightly colored dresses with matching jackets; Obama is more dramatic in bell sleeves with an occasional flash of cleavage.
"There's no way they could be sisters and exchange clothes," says image consultant Ginger Burr. They do, however, have a shared affinity for bead necklaces, particularly pearls - and the chunkier the better.
Obama, just named to Vanity Fair's International Best Dressed List alongside the likes of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Sarah Jessica Parker, wore a single strand of large, white pearls around her neck with a purple dress and funky black belt when her husband claimed the Democratic nomination.
Mastoloni pearls and Tyra Banks grace the cover of September’s Harper’s Bazaar
In a stunning and elegant seven-page fantasy sequence in September’s Harper’s Bazaar, supermodel Tyra Banks channels Michelle Obama while wearing exquisite and breathtaking pearls that only Mastoloni, one of America’s exclusive producers of fine pearl creations, could design.
From single strands of perfect pearl necklaces and bracelets to bold baroque double strands, Mastoloni’s craftsmanship has never looked so classy and luxurious than on Banks. Three fabulous Mastoloni designs grace the pages of Harper’s Bazaar, the American fashion bible, and the prospective First Lady and iconoclastic supermodel only complement some of Mastoloni’s finest creations.
Collection of Delightful Mother & Daughter Pearl Stories
England's Queen Elizabeth II wore pearls at her 1947 wedding. She gave daughter-in-law-to-be Diana Spencer the dangling pearl and diamond tiara, called the Cambridge Love Knot, for Diana's wedding to Prince Charles in 1981.
Thirty-five years ago, Suzie Legg of Wallback "was a young lady head over heels with my Prince Charming." In planning her perfect wedding, she asked her mother if she could wear her pearls on her wedding day. Her mother said no.
"For some reason, I took her answer in stride and didn't let it bother me," she remembered.
Then right before her father started to escort her down the aisle, he stopped and took something from his pocket. "Your mother and I want you to have these," he said, placing a beautiful strand of new pearls around her neck.
Queen Elizabeth, wearing a Three Strand Pearl Necklace, gives somber Christmas broadcast
by PAISLEY DODDS
LONDON (AP) — Britain's Queen Elizabeth II delivered a somber Christmas broadcast Thursday, acknowledging how the economic crisis has cast a shadow over the traditional festive season.
"Christmas is a time for celebration, but this year it is a more somber occasion for many," the 82-year-old monarch said in the prerecorded message from Buckingham Palace's Music Room.
In this year's address, she stood in front of a grand piano covered with photographs of Prince Charles, Princes William and Harry and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice played the piano for the queen earlier this month.
The queen wore a beige dress and a three-stringed pearl necklace — her favorite piece of jewelry given to her by her grandfather, George V — and a heart-shaped brooch inherited from Queen Mary. The brooch is set with part of the Cullinan diamond.
Well, poor Marie Antoinette never got to wear her natural pearls again...but maybe YOU can. They'll be up for auction at Christie's in London on Wednesday, December 12, 2007.
Marie's necklace containing 33 natural pearls, diamonds and rubies is expected to bring 400,000 British Pounds. That's somewhere around a million US dollars.
Apparently, Marie Antoinette gave her pearl necklace to Lady Sutherland, Elizabeth Leveson-Gower, the wife of the British Ambassador in Paris, in hopes it would be returned to her once again after her escape from France.....which, of course, never happened.
Marie Antoinette was executed by guillotine on 16 October, 1793.
I have seen Marie Antoinette's death mask at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London. The museum also claims to have the guillotine used for her execution. It can be seen at Madame Tussaud's which is one of London's most famous attractions.
With such buzz around Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, it’s hard to believe that Bam could be upstaged. But, recently, his wife, Michelle Obama, has managed to turn some of the most judgmental heads with her picture-perfect fashion sense.
In the ultimate coup on June 8, the Style section of the New York Times wrote approvingly of Michelle’s shift dresses and preppy hairdo, titling their piece, "She Dresses to Win.” (Well, actually, maybe impressing Vogue would be the ultimate coup.)
A hallmark of Michelle’s look? One (or two!) strands of huge (fake?) pearls.
Pearls have always denoted a classy broad. Actress Audrey Hepburn wore a pearl choker for her iconic role as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and more recently Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl (CBS, TWX)and Carrie Bradshaw in the Sex and the City (TWC) film adorned themselves in pearls.
