Solara Bracelet

Real pearls, spaced out. Small freshwater pearls set at intervals along a fine chain, so it catches light the way a strand does without any of the formality. This one goes with a t shirt.

Adjustable from 6.3 to 7.9 inches with the extender, so it sits where you want it rather than where it lands. Built on 925 sterling silver and plated in 18K gold or rhodium.

The pearls are genuine, which means no two of these are quite the same.

Details

• 925 sterling silver base
• 18K gold plated or rhodium plated, 0.05 microns
• Genuine freshwater pearls, potato shape, 2.5 to 3mm
• Adjustable from 6.3 to 7.9 inches, 16cm plus a 4cm extender
• Available in gold and silver
• From the Desert Sol Collection

What is a potato pearl?

Potato is the trade name for a freshwater pearl that is slightly oblong rather than perfectly round, named for roughly what it looks like. It is not a flaw. Freshwater pearls grow inside a living mussel and very few come out perfectly round, which is exactly why the round ones cost what they do. A potato pearl has the same nacre and the same luster, with a little more character. At 2.5 to 3mm the shape reads as handmade rather than irregular, and it is the reason no two of these bracelets are identical.

How do you care for freshwater pearls?

Last on, first off. Pearls are soft, around 2.5 to 4.5 on the hardness scale, which is softer than glass, and they are organic rather than mineral. That means perfume, hairspray, sunscreen, and household cleaners will dull them over time. Put the bracelet on after you are dressed and scented, take it off before you shower or swim, and wipe it with a soft cloth now and then. Never soak it or use jewelry dip. Treated that way, pearls outlast the person wearing them.