A Lifelong Passion For Pearls
It is one of my greatest gifts that I get to share my love of pearls with you.
I've worked professionally with pearls since 2006, but my love affair with them began long before that. I played dress-up with pearls as a little girl, and when I turned eight, my dad gave me a strand of my very own.
I was hooked.
In 2006, while traveling through Asia, I discovered an incredible world of pearls, pearl markets, and suppliers. I wanted to learn everything I could—and eventually, I wanted to build a business around them.
By 2008, I had started The Pearl Girls®.
A Pearl Graduate
I loved pearls, but I also felt strongly that if I was going to sell them, I needed to truly understand them.
So I went back to school—for pearls!
I earned my Graduate Pearls Diploma from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and have continued studying pearls ever since.
Nearly two decades later, I'm still learning.
That's one of the things I love most about pearls. There is always something else to discover: how they're grown, how they're graded, where they come from, how older pearls were drilled and strung, and what a well-loved strand can tell you about its history.
Building A Business While Raising A Family
The Pearl Girls grew up alongside my family.
My son Jack was born in 2010, and my son Harry followed in 2011. Like many working mothers, I wrestled with how to build a business I loved without allowing that business to take me away from the family I loved.
I dreamed of creating a workplace where women could do meaningful work while keeping family close.
In 2015, we opened an office with two children's playrooms and an outdoor play area so our staff could bring their children to work.
We no longer offer onsite childcare, but creating that space remains one of the things I am most proud of in the history of The Pearl Girls.
It represented something I still believe deeply: a business can be built around people, not just products.
And when I look back over the years, the people are what I treasure most.
The women who have worked here. The families who grew alongside the business. The craftspeople who developed their skills here. And, of course, our customers.
Pearls from the Source
My education eventually took me far beyond books and classrooms.
By 2013, I was traveling directly to pearl farms to learn about pearl cultivation and personally source pearls for The Pearl Girls collections.
My pearl travels have taken me to China, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Indonesia, Fiji, Mexico, French Polynesia, Vietnam, and the United States.
I've met pearl farmers, walked through pearl markets, visited hatcheries and farms, and seen firsthand the tremendous amount of work that goes into producing a beautiful cultured pearl.
Those experiences changed the way I look at pearls—and the way I buy them.
Today, that knowledge helps guide the classic pearl jewelry we offer at The Pearl Girls.
Something unexpected happened as The Pearl Girls grew.
Because we were creating our own pearl jewelry, we needed skilled pearl knotters and jewelry makers. And before long, customers began asking:
"Can you fix my pearls, too?"
The answer was yes.
What began as a natural extension of our jewelry-making work grew into one of the most important parts of The Pearl Girls.
Today, our Reknot & Repair Department receives pearls and beaded jewelry from customers across the country and around the world.
We restring and reknot pearl necklaces and bracelets, repair broken strands, replace clasps, clean jewelry, resize pieces, and help customers redesign jewelry they no longer wear.
And some of the pieces that arrive here are extraordinary.
We've worked with vintage pearls, heirloom strands, costume jewelry, beautiful old beads, and pieces that may not have enormous monetary value but are absolutely priceless to the person who owns them.
A grandmother's pearls.
A mother's necklace.
Wedding jewelry.
A strand tucked away in a drawer for 30 years.
Working with these pieces has given us an entirely different education in pearls—and it has become work that I am incredibly proud of.
The Pearl Girls Today
The Pearl Girls has evolved many times since I started the company.
In the early days, we sold jewelry through pearl parties with an amazing group of sales representatives. We expanded into wholesale and sold through retailers and catalogs. Eventually, online sales became an increasingly important part of our business.
Today, you'll find us online and at our shop at:
548 Hawthorne Ave.
Athens, Georgia 30606
Our focus is simpler than it once was.
We specialize in beautiful, classic cultured pearl jewelry and in professional pearl and beaded jewelry repair, restringing, and reknotting.
I love that combination.
We get to help customers choose new pearls that may become tomorrow's heirlooms—and we get to care for the heirlooms they already have.
And Our Customers...
I could never tell the story of The Pearl Girls without talking about our customers.
You are truly the gems of this business.
Over the years, I've received handwritten notes, emails, photographs, pearl stories, and phone calls from people who have trusted us with both their celebrations and their most sentimental possessions.
Some customers come to us for their first strand of pearls.
Others send us a necklace that belonged to someone they loved and ask us to make it wearable again.
That trust means an enormous amount to me.
Every time you choose a small business like ours, recommend us to a friend, send us your pearls for repair, shop with us, or simply call to ask a question, you are helping keep this wonderful little world of pearls going.
Thank you.
Thank you for growing with us, trusting us, and allowing The Pearl Girls to evolve.
What's Next?
After all these years, I still love pearls.
I love learning about them. I love talking about them. I love seeing where they come from. I love finding beautiful pearls for our collections.
And I've developed an entirely new appreciation for the old ones—the pearls that arrive at our shop worn, broken, tangled, or tucked inside a box with a note telling us whose they once were.
Whether you're looking for a classic strand of pearls, need help repairing or restringing jewelry you already love, or simply want to learn more about pearls, I hope you'll consider yourself part of The Pearl Girls family.
Come visit us in Athens, shop our pearl collections online, or send us the pearls that need a little love.
I'm so glad you're here.
India Rows Marks
Founder, The Pearl Girls®
GIA Graduate Pearls
