getting pearled?
 

Hi, I'm looking to buy my girlfriend, who is in a sorority, pearls. I've heard that they mean something similar to a promise ring. But I've seen in a few places that most of the time they are just a single pearl on a necklace. Would a string of pearls mean the same thing?

I've never heard of that. However, an actual string of real pearls is pretty expensive so I think by default there is a certain permanence associated with them and the fact that they are a gift from a boyfriend. It's not a gift to be received willy-nilly no matter the relationship.

When I got mine my husband said I had reached the age where I should wear pearls. Take that for what it's worth, but he's no longer my husband ;)

No, a string of pearls is not the.same thing and will not have the same meaning. Talk to some of your girlfriend's sorority sisters if you don't know where to purchase this.

Meh. What's with men and pearls? My husband was obsessed with me having pearls for a few years. He finally got the message that I'm not a pearl girl no matter what he'd wish.

LOL at "men and pearls"

I think it's because they know that pearls are supposed to be classic and pretty and they think they can't get it wrong, the way they could get something more blingy and fashionable. It's the jewelry equivalent of red roses.

I think it's a desire to marry June Cleaver. He'd have loved for me to dress that way too.

ETA/and my princess feet do not go into heels except under duress. Forgetting the virtual cocktail dresses 7 days a week.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought getting pearled was the equivalent of getting pinned, but by a non-affiliated boyfriend. At least, this was the case at Duke. Thus, it is the equivalent to the seriousness of getting pinned, which at Duke was "engaged to be engaged." It was always a single pearl when I saw it done (similar to the look of a lavalier, I guess).

Never heard of it.

Not common at my campus. I've never heard of this tradition either. For us it's strictly lavaliering or engagement.

That's what it is. People have talked about it on here before.

So I don't want to turn this into another North vs. South discussion, but this whole thing with men thinking that women should have pearls; is that a southern thing?

I've never heard of a man "expecting" a woman to have pearls (or thinking that they've reached an age where they should have some). And I never really see women wearing them.

It seems fairly Southern. I'm Southern. My husband really has this idea of pearls= classy. I have a more modern jewelry aesthetic and don't find a reason to wear a string of pearls on any occasion. It took at least 6 years and multiple spurned offers to buy me pearls before he realized that I really didn't want them.

Definitely Southern. Pearls have also become more popular (again?) with college age girls (in the South, at least). I have a 16" strand of pearls. They get worn with everything from t-shirts to dresses, and are a regular part of gameday attire.

Women were pearled by non-Greek boyfriends at my very much not Southern school.

I haven't heard of it, but a lot of things like this never made it up to Maine where I went to school.

The only pearls I wear are on my badge, I'm partial to David Yurman jewelry.

I love the pearls on my badge. It gives me a reason to wear pearls in general.

This was not a thing on my campus either. In fact, when I saw the title of the thread I was clueless and opened it out of curiosity. On my campus, if a non-Greek guy was that serious about his sorority girl friend, he either bought her a promise ring or an engagement ring.

I agree about the Southern part. What's interesting to me though, though, is the idea that husbands get them for their wives. In my experience, girls always got them from their parents or grandparents, or maybe from their godparents, before they were married—usually when in college.

I've had several pairs of cheap faux pearls in my life, including in college. My parents were not financially able to buy me a set of real pearls. My religion does not do godparents, either.

I have some that belonged to someone who is now dead. I don't know that I've ever worn them, though.

If you plan on keeping/wearing them in the future, you should have them checked by a jeweler. The thread can deteriorate over time and you could have a huge mess on your hands.

Fair points, and my experience on how women received strings of pearls is limited, and probably dated, to be sure. (And my religious tradition doesn't do godparents either, but I did have a friend or two who got pearls from godparents.)

Are you talking about pearls or about some conversations on GC? ;)

hahahaha. I guess both!

I was once told to never wear any kind of hairspray or perfume around my neck when wearing pearls because it can also eat away at the pearls. I'm not sure if this is true or not but, it's something I am always aware of and I try to keep my real pearls in good condition.

I think it's less about the pearls and more the strand. The pearls SHOULD be individually knotted, so a break should only result in 1 pearl lost, but if it's not done that way, yes, one too many zaps with the hairspray and CRACK.... pearls everywhere.

I have a set that I inherited from my grandmother, a set that I inherited from my mom, and a set that my brother bought for me as a "thank you" for handling my dad's estate.

I don't wear any of them.

Just not my thing. I'm going to save them and give them to my grand-daughters or daughters-in-law or something.

In Hong Kong I fell in love with colored pearls. Own black and chocolate brown ones. Wear them often, with simple white t shirts. It works for me. Love them. Coveted the Tahitian pearls and these were an affordable knockoff. But those Tahitian pearls…sigh. Astronomical prices. Next lifetime.

My now-deceased great aunt worked at Macy's for something like 40 years...consequently had all sorts of beautiful things from Macy's bought for super cheap. She got me the most gorgeous pearl earrings, necklace and bracelet set that I wear whenever I'm going to fancy sorority events. They're very popular down here, but not so much back home.

Interesting article about pearls

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=126354&page=1

This thread made me decide to wear pearls today---just because.

That is so adorable. It can be a single pearl or a whole string of it what is important is the thought of giving your gf a present at precious as this. Way to go!

Ouch...we give our daughters a nice string of pearls for their 13th birthday. It may be a bit traditional but it has become our tradition.

This is the first time I am hearing too. There is something you learn daily.

My mom is from the South which may explain why I grew up with the thought that my first strand of pearls would be a "womanhood" thing. I got my first strand when I graduated college. I got my second strand as a present after becoming a Delta.

I've never heard the term "getting pearled" but I hope it went well for the OP. :)

I was presented a lavalier from my boyfriend. It had the letters on it in gold and is similar to a promise ring. It was an amazing gift, as I'm sure a string of pearls would be!

Reread the thread. It is not a string of pearls he wants, it's a single pearl on a chain.

As someone who dated (and then married) my GDI boyfriend AND Went to a 'southern' school (kentucky), I was pearled. At UK it is the equivalent of the lavalier for a frat boy. There really was no middle ground, after the pearl it would go straight to the engagement so I guess it could be either equivalent of the lavaliere or being 'pinned'.

It is a single pearl, hence the term "she got her pearl". Full strands of pearls are something your parents or other family member buys for you.

I still have it (22 years later) and wear it regularly. It's the first piece of jewelry my now husband gave me.

Right, that's strange to me, too. I got them from my parents when I graduated from 8th grade. I could see a husband getting her more fancy, elaborate ones, but "reaching an age to wear pearls" to me says teens, either the start of high school or Sweet 16.

Probably a leftover from the 1920's or a hopeful faux Marti-Gras moment...