The Multi-Faceted Story of Pearly
Pearl Ng’s life has spanned not only the globe but has also incorporated a range of disciplines in art, culture and jewelry. Born in Hong Kong, she spent several years in Australia before moving to the United States for well over a decade before moving back to HK to start her business. Now living in the UK, she was recently chosen to showcase her work at the prestigious Goldsmiths’ Fair exhibition in London. To learn more about her unique and somewhat circuitous trajectory into the world of fine jewelry, including how she decided to straddle the two worlds of design and gem trading, InColor caught up with Pearl, who is also an ICA Director, at her studio in Brighton and Hove.
Interview conducted by Cynthia Unninayar
InColor: Pearl, you’ve built a colorful career shaping dreams into reality through your jewelry designs. What initially drew you to design jewelry?
Pearl Ng: Designing jewelry and working with gems has been my raison d’ȇtre. My life experiences led me to fine jewelry. My first foray began in San Francisco when my high school art teacher and artist, Dana Hart-Stone, took me to Native American powwows and taught me seed beading. He also introduced me to the legendary 1960s bead shop Yone that had an incredible selection of beads from all over the world. Owner Hermon Baker taught me about beads and the supplies needed to put them together. Soon I was making jewelry and selling it at school. Back then, I was still engrossed in art and design, and did not think that making jewelry could become a life profession.
You chose to go to Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) after high school graduation. Is this where you started your interest in serious jewelry design?
Not initially. RISD was my dream school to study industrial design. I worked on product design and experimented with many mediums such as glassblowing, filmmaking and textiles, but I was only exposed to vessels-making in the jewelry department. I was good at working with metals and won first place in a Dansk-sponsored flatware competition. I encountered minerals quite by accident while one day working as a teaching assistant. The painter Victor Lara showed me a piece of giant amber embedded with hundreds of ants that he had traded a painting for. I was gob smacked! He introduced me to Sal Avella at Apple Valley Minerals, who taught me all about minerals and I began collecting large specimens, which surprisingly stand toe-to-toe with some of my top purchases from Tucson. After graduation, I was hired by my Industrial Design professor to work at his firm in Providence on consumer products such as Speedo goggles, Victorinox pens and lawn chairs. Later the company changed its focus to the medical field, so I worked as a designer in point-of purchase display in New York City. The projects mainly involved cosmetics luxury brands such as Marc Jacobs and MAC. This is where I learned to channel the soul of a brand into form, color and expression. On my lunch break, I often visited the luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman, seeing what’s new in the jewelry section. Transfixed by the top jewels and everything luxury, that’s when it clicked, and I began changing my career to become a bespoke maker. I left my job and went to NYU for a Master’s Degree in Art Education, where I studied sculpture and silversmithing, along with other design courses at Parsons, while continuing to make jewelry in New York’s Diamond District.
After you returned to your roots in Hong Kong, is this where your jewelry focus crystalized?
When I arrived in Hong Kong, I worked as a lecturer at Hong Kong Art School teaching BFA in Branding, 3D-Design and Packaging Design, which supplemented my income while I began my company Pearly. In 2006, I visited my first Hong Kong Gems & Jewellery show, which opened a whole new universe. I did bespoke in the back end while creating collections that did well editorially, which led me to relaunch my brand in London Fashion Week in 2012. In 2015, Pearly was featured in the major fashion magazines Elle and Vogue, as well as in several trade publications. I was invited by retailers like Harrods to showcase my work. By then, I had finished my GIA Diamond course on a half-scholarship and decided to complete my Graduate Gemologist (GG). I rebranded into a bespoke-only business and started becoming a broker for other designers and the trade alike. Since I was now straddling both the worlds of gem dealer and jewelry designer, I found myself creating larger pieces as well as making a name for Pearly as a color gem specialist for bespoke jewels. In 2020, I decided to elevate my business and moved to the United Kingdom.
Your focus on colored gems is distinctive. Why do you gravitate towards them, and do you have favorites?
Natural colored gems are my canvas – they allow me to weave narratives and emotions into my designs to build stories. They are the focus and provide a link to Nature’s amazing work. Recently, I created a ring with a 27-carat morganite from my collection, which won a prestigious Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council Award in 3D Design and Precious Jewellery. I also love emeralds with a vibrant jardin, as much as the neon glow from stones like Paraiba, canary tourmaline and Jedi spinel. Saturated juicy colors like spessartite garnet and green jadeite captivate me. Having spent my early teens in Australia, opal holds a special spot in my heart with its rainbow colors, which I also can see in white spinels and of course, diamonds. It’s all about scintillation, physics and how color fills you with emotions.
As most of your pieces are custom-made, what are your main design directions and inspiration?
Nature has been my primary muse for almost my entire design life. From organic forms of fruits to the geometric precision of a fern, I’m fascinated by their architectural structures and patterns. I also draw inspiration from art, fashion and film. For my custom pieces, I start with the wearer, taking into account who they are, their stories and desires. As an example, a client wanted a birthday gift for his wife who paints and makes pashminas in Tibet. With their modest budget, I proposed a modern cut citrine, whose yellow tones evoke Tibetan saffron robes of monks, accented with baguette diamonds, and Sleeping Beauty turquoise beads, which are found in ancient Buddhism religious objects. Set in platinum with baroque scrolls symbolizing scriptures, with Tibetan gold bead accents, I then added yellow diamonds and an engraved mantra as private details on the back. On a different note, another husband with a larger budget, wanted a top quality unheated ruby for his London fashionista wife. I chose a fun heart-shaped ruby with top color and visible fine rutile. Set in black rhodium-plated 18K gold, the stone was further enhanced with matching-color small rubies. With bespoke, it all depends on the client and which gem has the starring role.
Your dual approach blends design and gemology seamlessly. How does this duality influence your creations?
I moved into the gem business with over a decade of design experience behind me, yet it took some time to refine the relationship of design to supply chain, from mine to finger, so to speak. Being a gemologist and a designer allows me to bridge the gap between stone and design. Understanding the intricate properties of each gem helps to inform how I showcase its glory, thus ensuring beauty and style with durability and wearability. Color is mainly the feature, but it is important to know if a particular gem will fit a client’s criteria and lifestyle. I look at gems not only for color and quality, but I also consider reflective index, harmony and contrast, the angles that they will be viewed, how to highlight the star. A lot of considerations are at play in creating the design, so being conversant in gemology became a necessity for my work.
What sets Pearly apart in the jewelry market, beyond just the designs? How do you ensure ethics, responsible sourcing to ensure your gems and manufacturing processes align with responsible practices?
True luxury is about the very best – the best material, the best craftsmen, the best design. But it is also about how it is made, lovingly, from the heart. Pearly is driven by creating the very best. Fresh out of GIA, I flew to Sri Lanka almost immediately to see a sapphire mine – I just had to see it. This was my first step in learning about responsible sourcing, which continues to be a focus of my work to this day, with integrity at the core. I’ve cultivated long-term relationships with partners who share my commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. Whether sourcing from the mines or working with trusted cutters, responsible stewardship is nonnegotiable for me. It has helped keep my supply chain short and transparent. My goal is to continue to take an active part in the gem sector. Having access to the source is one of the strengths of our colored stone industry where the trajectory can often be traced. This intimate approach, coupled with my commitment to create the very best, is what distinguishes Pearly in the crowded world of fine jewelry.
How do you see the future of colored gemstone jewelry evolving?
Colored gemstones will continue to redefine fine jewelry, offering diversity and personalization beyond traditional diamonds. As consumers realize how truly rare and unique colored gemstones are, demand will grow. For the younger generations where sustainable practices are an important part of purchasing decisions, colored gems offer a clear choice. On a more specific level, we are seeing inroads of colored gems into the bridal market. Traditionally, the value of an engagement ring lies in the sentiment of a diamond, nurtured through symbolism. But when people understand more about colored gems, their history, provenance and how they are helping communities, I think people will opt for something more layered than a diamond, something more romantic, in a way. I might also add that the huge surge and then decline of lab grown diamonds in recent years will likely attract more shoppers who are looking for other types of precious gems.
Lastly, now that you are back in the UK, what excites you most about the upcoming projects and exhibitions for Pearly?
Being in the UK has put my work in a new direction. Bespoke is still my focus because I enjoy working with people and sourcing on an individual basis. Having said that, I am now working towards high jewelry, with pieces that truly represent the ultimate luxury, detailing the journey from mine to consumer. In addition to my bespoke fine jewelry, I am thrilled to have been selected to exhibit in the prestigious Goldsmiths’ Fair, happening September 24 to 29. It’s an iconic and highly competitive exhibition, and I am delighted to be part of this revered group in the British jewelry scene. It’s a testament to Pearly’s evolution and recognition within the industry. Moving forward, I’m eager to expand my presence while staying true to my values of quality gems, craftsmanship, creativity and ethical sourcing, while telling Pearly’s multi-faceted story.
All images are courtesy of Pearly.
