Signature Luxury Travel & Style
JEWELLERY
The major names in the realm of Australia’s lustrous pearls.
Apearl lies in wait within the milky-soft walls of an unassuming oyster, forming and strengthening into an object of desire. It is a living gem born of a living organism. Australia has become a pinnacle player in the pearl game over the past century, but what is it exactly that sets the Australian South Sea pearl apart from its rivals? Farmed in just one abundant region off the northern coast of Western Australia, taken from Pinctada Maxima oysters – the largest variety in the world – these gems boast the thickest nacre of any cultured oceanic pearl, unmatched due to their high transparency and quality overtones of silver and pink.
Kailis www.kailisjewellery.com.au Founded: 1974; launched 2002 as Kailis Australian Pearls
It is said Kailis pearls should be earned through a woman’s sophistication, style and achievement; an honorary nod to Dr Patricia Kailis. She and her husband set up their first pearl farm in Broome long before the trend caught on, tending to each oyster in a nurturing manner. The brilliance of South Sea Pearls is the focus of each piece, letting the pearls speak for themselves against an unblemished backdrop, be it of gold, sterling silver or diamond. Kailis is synonymous with clean, modern and immediately sophisticated design; it discreetly imbeds a black diamond into each piece and attracted Natalie Imbruglia as spokeswoman. It is also developed an ultra-functional Versatility Strand, which can deconstruct one continuous operalength strand into colliers, chokers and bracelets as desired through hidden separators. The result? One purchase, one woman, effortless chic.
Linneys www.linneys.com.au Founded: 1972
The Linneys name is one that sees the merging of many powerful pairs: pearls and diamonds, contemporary and classic, bold and organic, Alan Linney and Bill Reed. The latter were the formative partnership that sparked it all – Reed the visionary with a desire to bring Broome’s pearls to the world, while Linney was the one with retail pizzazz and the designs to craft them into a tangible dream. Today the brand’s jewellery remains exemplary; timeless round-pearl strands alongside intriguing, freeform pieces which celebrate pearls in all organic shapes and sizes. Paired with gleaming 18-carat gold and brilliant-cut diamonds, each piece in the Linneys collection is sure to make a daring yet refined statement.
Paspaley www.paspaley.com Founded: 1935
From humble beginnings, spurred by the entrepreneurship of Nicholas Paspaley and his upbringing amid the old wooden pearl luggers, this iconic name is now the largest and oldest pearling company in Australia, with six boutiques across the nation, three in Dubai and a reputation that spans the globe. The brand’s namesake bought his first lugger at the age of 19, embracing a life of adventure, passion and toil on the high seas in order to grow his business to the scale we see today. Touted as the creator of the world’s finest pearls, nowadays only the purest five per cent gathered from each harvest are deemed worthy of gracing a Paspaley strand. The extreme quality of each is so high that very little treatment (or maintenance) is required to retain their dazzling condition; in essence, they are near ageless.
Jan Logan www.janlogan.com Founded: 1989
It was a grand milestone in Jan Logan’s late-blooming success story when the brand celebrated its 25th anniversary in October last year. Growing up in Narrabri in north-western New South Wales, Logan seemed to have her path set after marrying young and becoming a mother of three. However, after landing a job that saw her closely tied to the main jeweller in town, a passion and imagination was ignited. She started suggesting designs, then creating them, and was eventually able to open a boutique in Sydney’s Double Bay in 1989, backed by a loyal client base. Indeed, it’s no surprise why. Her creations are classic and elegant, pairing the most lustrous pearls with diamonds and precious gems, which now frequently adorn the bodies of stars such as Naomi Watts and Jennifer Lopez. Indeed, she is proof that it is never too late for reinvention.
Autore www.pearlautore.com.au Founded: 1991
The Autore Five S’s – shine, surface, shape, shade and size – continue to ensure exceptional quality on all South Sea Pearls used within the brand’s collections, making it simpler to gauge how much a design is worth. With a pearl farm based in Thailand, Autore also will occasionally incorporate the most dazzling of black pearls as well, providing a stunning contrast and a dramatic array of styles. There is everything from the classic, clean forms of the Essential Collection and the unfathomably detailed heritage-style pieces of the Couture Collection, to the organic, lava-like Fire & Ice range and the Art-Deco-made-modern delights of its Boutique selection.