'All That Glitters' Week Three: Pearl Link Necklaces

Have you been keeping up to date with the BBC2 jewellery talent show ‘All That Glitters’? The show follows a group of talented jewellers completing a variety of weekly challenges set to whittle the contestants down to one final winner.

We are taking a look each week at the styles of jewellery featured and highlight the skill and the craft required to make each design.

Last week, the jewellers created spinner rings. This week, the contestants are tasked with creating a contemporary twist on a pearl necklace.

Pearl Necklaces

It's week three, and there are only six jewellers left in the competition. The task this week is to create a modern version of a pearl link necklace, using freshwater cultured pearls and either silver or gold links.

Considered a jewellery classic, a string of pearls is often what comes to mind when thinking of pearl jewellery. Traditional and perhaps even a little outmoded, pearls have been regarded as the preserve of an older generation, but why not use this most beautiful of gems in modern jewellery pieces? The luminosity, lustre and iridescence of pearls is uniquely attractive and it's great to see this precious stone used in a contemporary jewellery challenge.

Freshwater Pearls

Pearls are considered to be the oldest gemstone in the world and have been worn as an adornment for thousands of years. From its beginning as a grain of sand, the transformation into a shimmering, luminous gemstone makes pearls uniquely fascinating. A cultured pearl is created by farming molluscs under carefully controlled conditions. Cultured pearls can be farmed using freshwater river mussels or saltwater oysters but the vast majority of cultured pearl jewellery uses freshwater cultured pearls.

Iridescent freshwater cultured pearls display a spectrum of shimmering hues. Universally flattering, the pearl’s milky white tone adds instant luminosity to the face and works perfectly against all skin tones. 

You can read more about freshwater pearls here: Freshwater Pearls

Our Favourite Designs

Watching the creation of the jeweller's pearl necklaces, the technique required in stringing pearls was really highlighted. Stringing pearls is painstaking work and requires patience and practiced skill to secure the pearls with the correct tension to allow the pearl string to be flexible and flow around the piece of jewellery.

Our two favourite necklaces this week were Jack's asymmetric design, and Emma's pretty twisting piece.

We love the balance of the unique open silver links against the classic strung pearls in Jack's necklace. Asymmetric necklaces are great fun to wear as they often afford different looks in the same piece; we can imagine wearing this necklace as pictured, but also with the silver links at the front and the strung pearls around the back of the neck.

Jack's Asymmetric Pearl Link Necklace

Unfortunately, Emma's twist links are a little uneven but the design concept itself is beautiful and we love the roundness of the freshwater pearls mirroring the round links that they are sitting within. 

Emma's Twisting Link Pearl Necklace

Get The Look

If you love the idea of some contemporary pearl jewellery, then take a look at our pearl jewellery selection here: Pearl Jewellery.

This twisting silver link necklace features three-dimensional twisting sterling silver links with rounded freshwater cultured pearls interspersed in between.

Silver & Freshwater Pearl Spirals Necklace

This contemporary freshwater pearl necklace design displays rounded pearls with a curved silver bar sitting centrally. The polished silver bar creates a modern and dramatic contrast to the strung freshwater pearls.

Curved Bar and Pearl Necklace

We are looking forward to the creations in Week 4. Make sure you keep an eye on our blog for our insight on the latest designs.