Pearl Wedding Earrings: How to Choose Your Pair

Freshwater pearls are genuine pearls grown inside a mollusc, so no two are perfectly identical in shape, size or lustre, which gives them a warmer, slightly irregular glow. Swarovski pearls are engineered, a glass or crystal core coated to a pearlescent finish, which makes every pearl in a pair, or across several pairs, exactly uniform in size and colour. A'el Este's Joya is a genuine freshwater pearl drop, while their Lani and Elizabeth Bower's Bubble Mini stud both use true Swarovski crystal pearls, so you can compare the two finishes side by side in the same range.

Studs sit close to the earlobe and suit a hairstyle worn down or a neckline with its own detail, since they add pearl without competing for attention. Drops move and catch light, which reads better with hair worn up or a simpler neckline that leaves the ear and jaw visible. Heather and the Bubble Mini stud are both close-set studs in this range, while Joya, Lani and Poppy are drops that sit two to four and a half centimetres below the ear.

Yes, and freshwater pearls in particular tend to suit ivory better than a stark white pearl does, because their natural colour already leans slightly warm rather than bright white. Joya and Poppy, both genuine freshwater, read close to the same warmth as an ivory gown. If your dress is a true, cool white rather than ivory, a Swarovski pearl's more uniform, brighter finish, as in Lani or the Bubble Mini stud, tends to match more closely.

The pearl earring range at The White Collection runs from $89 to $140 in Australian dollars. Heather and Joya sit at the entry point at $89, Lani is $99, Poppy is $109, the Weiss Pearl Mini Duet is $110 and the Bubble Mini stud is the most expensive at $140. Price here tracks the setting and the cluster of stones around the pearl more than the pearl type itself, since a Swarovski and a freshwater piece can sit at a similar price point.

The White Collection stocks pearl wedding earrings online across Australia and in our Haberfield showroom in Sydney, across the A'el Este, Elizabeth Bower and White Collection labels. Trying pearl earrings on in person is worth doing for this category specifically, because a freshwater pearl's warmth or a Swarovski pearl's brightness reads differently in a showroom mirror than it does in a product photo. Buying locally also means a simple local exchange if the finish does not suit your dress once you see the two together.

It depends on the piece, and we describe each style accurately rather than assuming buyers will not ask. Joya and Poppy use genuine freshwater pearls, Lani and the Bubble Mini stud use true Swarovski crystal pearls, and the Weiss Pearl Mini Duet and Heather use an imitation and a glass pearl respectively. None of these are lower quality as a category, they simply produce a different look and sit at a different point on the natural-to-uniform spectrum.

Australian brides search for rose gold pearl earrings specifically, more than you might expect for what looks like a niche combination, and it works better than the mismatch it sounds like on paper. Rose gold sits close enough to both silver and gold on the colour wheel that it does not clash with either, which makes it a safer choice than a plain gold or silver setting if your dress hardware is mixed. None of the six pieces in this edit currently come in rose gold, so ask in our Haberfield showroom about custom plating if this is the combination you want.

Drop earrings are the better match for an updo, since they are the part of your jewellery most visible once your hair is off your neck and shoulders. Poppy's three centimetre drop and Lani's four and a half centimetre drop both sit in the range that photographs well below an updo without brushing the shoulder. A stud like Heather or the Bubble Mini reads more quietly with hair up, which suits a bride who wants her hairstyle rather than her earrings to be the focal point.