Too Deep in Blue※Reserved

The bracelet is shorter than this article.

Approximately 8,500 characters.

 

 

These are Akoya pearl bracelet and earrings created as a custom order.

The customer’s request was simple:
“Please make them as deep blue and as high quality as possible.”

When prioritizing deep blue pearls, there are often pearls with noticeable wounds or weaker luster. There are also many different directions of color — some pearls lean green, others strongly blue. On the other hand, when prioritizing pearls with strong luster and smooth surfaces, lighter-colored pearls also appear.

So I continued selecting pearls while balancing all of these elements together.

I made it sound dramatic and complicated, but honestly, the process itself is not that difficult. First, I select the deep blue pearls. Then I narrow them down further by strong luster. Finally, I remove pearls with noticeable wounds.

 

 

While doing this work, I realized something unexpected:
Flower Jem had far fewer 7mm natural blue pearls in stock than I thought.

It seems I will need to source more 7mm natural blue pearls in the future. I purchased quite a large amount about three years ago, but apparently they have finally started running out. Fortunately, I still have a little more room with the 8mm pearls.

Silver Thread ver.

Now, before I drift too far from the subject, both the bracelet and earrings use K18 gold fittings. Recently, I feel more customers are requesting K18 gold, and blue pearls match gold exceptionally well.

The earring pair also has an obvious size difference. This happened because there simply were no pearls of exactly the same size that also shared the same depth of color, same luster, and clean surface.

Pearls are one of a kind.

That is a very convenient phrase.

 

I often say that pairing pearls feels similar to finding parents, siblings, or relatives.

Brothers and sisters may have different heights, different genders, and may not even appear similar on the surface. Yet they can still share strange little habits — the way they look at someone’s nose while listening, the way they touch their earlobe while driving, or how unusually friendly they are when meeting someone for the first time.

Pearls are similar.

Silver Thread ver.

Sometimes the sizes are different, but the overtone colors feel alike. Sometimes the color differs slightly, but the level of luster is the same. I keep searching for these hidden similarities and eventually think,
“These pearls are probably siblings.”
“Maybe these are parent and child.”

Of course, from the pearls’ perspective, they are probably saying:
“No, we are not related! Who is this stranger!?”

 

 

The customer who ordered these pieces also observed the pearls very carefully.

For both the bracelet and earrings, I presented several options, and the customer examined every small detail closely. Because of that, I became even more serious about finding pearls that were “just a little deeper blue” and “just a little higher quality,” repeatedly changing pearls and reselecting combinations many times.

In fact, even after the customer approved the final bracelet, I secretly replaced several pearls with even higher-quality ones afterward.

In short:
I became too deep in blue.

Originally, these pearls had been stored as pearls intended for earrings.

 

 

From that lot, I had already selected many pearl pairs and turned them into finished products. What remained were pearls whose partners could no longer be found.

After pearls are harvested and processed, half-drilled pearls for rings, brooches, and earrings are selected first.

For rings and earrings, pearls without wounds are preferred. Even if a pearl has a wound, one small wound is usually acceptable because it can simply be hidden on the backside.

For necklaces and bracelets, the thread passes through the pearl, so even if small wounds exist, they can often be positioned closer to the drill holes where they become less noticeable.

So, in that sense as well, the pearls used in this bracelet are rather special.

 

 

 

Originally, I wanted to say that these pearls are high quality because they were originally intended for earrings.

One mistake I may have made is that, as the quality kept improving during the selection process, the final price perhaps became a little too low compared to the finished quality. However, this customer placed many orders within a short period of time, so I decided to treat it as a hidden service.

There is also another story behind this bracelet.

 

 

Originally, at the customer’s request, the bracelet was made with silver-colored thread.

On Saturday, I drilled the pearls and completed the bracelet using the silver thread. Then the next day, just when all that remained was writing the letter and packing the box, the customer sent me a message:

“I saw a necklace made with mint green thread. What do you think?”

It was very clear that the customer was already attracted to mint green.

Coincidentally, that same morning, my mother had said to me on the phone:
“You really seem to like mint green lately.”

At that moment, both the customer and I decided:
“This bracelet should be remade with mint green.”

The bracelet made with silver thread had a mature and proper impression. The mint green version became softer and cuter.

It is not a matter of which is better. The overall feeling simply changes.

However, the mint green thread is one size thinner than the silver thread, so the bracelet also became more flexible and comfortable.

Incidentally, because I shipped the bracelet immediately after completion, the bracelet shown in the top image of this page together with the earrings is actually the silver-thread version.

When deep blue pearls are featured like this, the lighter-colored pearls need emotional support afterward, so they can be rather high maintenance.

Personally, I also go through periods where I become obsessed with deep blue pearls, and then after becoming exhausted by them, I find myself attracted again to lighter blue pearls.

In fact, several pearl dealers over the age of sixty have told me similar things.

Some even said:
“After becoming deeply obsessed with dark blue pearls once, people eventually settle into softer colors.”

Others said:
“When people are young, they fall for deep blue pearls.”

For some reason, it felt strangely universal to me.

 

 

Perhaps it is similar to learning fundamentals before moving into personal interpretation. When someone first learns cooking, they carefully use measuring tools. But after years of experience, they begin cooking by instinct and rough feeling instead.

You may ask:
“How are those things even related?”

 

 

Honestly… I am not entirely sure either. Haha.

 

 

Now then, it is currently Sunday evening, 7:30 PM.

Once this work is finished, I will return to Osaka.

 

 

There are still some 9mm pearl strands remaining, and I hope to continue working on them after returning to Osaka, though I am not sure how much progress I can make.

Next week is the end of the month, so my weekday job will become extremely busy. I will also be working on Saturday, which means my pearl time will likely decrease significantly.

Then, the following week is a three-day holiday, and I plan to take a trip with my mother. It is a journey that takes about five hours one way — though not a trip where we disappear forever. We fully intend to come back.

Since around the end of last year, we had been talking about traveling again, but the timing kept moving further and further away.

 

 

In January:
“It is too cold. Let’s go when it becomes warmer.”

In April:
“Your brother seems to be buying a car, so let’s wait until it arrives.”

Then in May:
“It seems the car delivery has been delayed.”

 

 

And so June finally arrived.

Among my family members, I get along best with my mother. However, recently I have spent so much time working with pearls that I return to my family home less often and even our phone calls have become less frequent.

So I proposed this trip as a way to make up for that.

 

 

My mother simply said:
“As long as I’m with you, anywhere is fine. Even the afterlife. Haha.”

She is that kind of cheerful person.

 

 

Oh — I completely forgot this was supposed to be a product description.

 

 

In short:
This listing is a custom-order set featuring deeply blue pearls in a beautiful bracelet and earrings.

 

 

Would you also like to create something together with blue pearls someday?

I will move according to your ideas.

 

 

And, of course, I fully intend to borrow your ideas and use them as nourishment for Flower Jem.

 

 

Thank you again for visiting this time as well.

Pearl bless you.

 

 

Breakdown

Bracelet — USD 382.67
Length: 18cm
Pearls: 7mm Akoya Natural Blue Baroque Pearls
Clasp: K18 Gold

Earrings — USD 247.33
Pearls: 8mm Akoya Natural Blue Baroque Pearls
Fittings: K18 Gold