MY AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE, Pt. XIIIb – PEARLS, PEARLS, PEARLS!

Ever since I was a little girl, I was fascinated by pearls, and after a school project on Broome and the early pearling industry, I vowed that one day I would own one. It’s taken me several decades to get there, but the #1 must-do for me in Broome was…buy a beautiful pearl. So I went on my own grail quest to find the pearl that would be mine. First thing was to learn more about how pearls were harvested, where they were found, how to tell a good pearl from a great pearl, how to listen when they “talk” to you. Your pearl will choose you!  Suzi chatted with the lovely lady at Broome Pearl Merchants store who shared all she knew with us. I checked out all the display cases (below) and although the jewellery was stunning, no pearl called out to me…. All around the shopping precinct, we found historical references to the industry from back in the last century and 1800s. It took a couple of shopping expeditions until I found MY pearl. I finally found it in the Pearls & Boheme store (pearls-boheme.com) – I saw the pendant in one display case then walked around the store a couple of times, but I kept coming back to that one big, bright shiny pearl. I told the lady working that day that I was interested and would come back for it. I needed time to decide whether I was going to spend a little more than I had planned. That night, I tossed and turned and all I could think of was that one pearl. So the next day, Suzi drove me into town to complete the transaction – I walked in the store to be met by owner and jewellery designer Brigitte Hoesl-Lindenberg. Yes, the pearl had been put aside for me…yaay!
PS: yeah, as you can see there was no make-up for me to look pretty. Would you wear it in 35degree heat? Naaah. The pearl sparkled enough for both of us…LOL. Pearl is now with me here in Toronto and all I need is a special event to wear it. But as Brigitte said “every day is a special event – wear your pearl”. So I sometimes sit and watch tv with it, I’ve even gone grocery shopping wearing it. And I’m wearing now as I write this blog.
Next Broome story will be on the fabulous old Sun Pictures outdoor cinema and the art galleries featuring the works of local indigenous artists. And after that….we go croc hunting!!