Round pearls have historically been viewed as a conventional jewelry item by day, and symbol of sophistication by night. Baroque pearls, however, have helped the organic gemstone move beyond the realm of these traditional views to become part of the latest consumer trend of buying unique and one-of-a-kind jewelry items.

Some American jewelry designers have developed a strong fancy for these pearls. Buddy Bear, a jewelry designer based in Pennsylvania, works exclusively with baroque and blister pearls.

Bear has been designing jewelry for 23 years, dedicating the last three years to working with blister and baroque pearl jewelry designs with great success. “I built approximately 20 pieces of earrings, bracelets, necklaces and pin pendants to start with. I must say that, no sooner had I finished them, I sold every piece. My peal sales have gone of the page in all categories of any jewelry sales. The increased interest tells me I will be selling a lot more pearls and pearl jewelry in the future,” he said.

The shapes, colors and sizes of baroque and blister pearls not only lend themselves to the endless imagination of the designer, but allow Bear to create jewelry with an inexpensive, abundant and unique material. Bear states his clientele is upscale, but retail prices range from $200 to $15,000.

Paula Crevoshay is another jewelry designer who uses American pearls so frequently that with each new harvest special pearls are set aside for use in her designs. The “Paula pearl” bins are full of her favorite bar, teardrop, rosebud and textured wing shapes, as well as the most commonly used gold, multi-colored, orange and pink pearls.

“So many choices in shapes and so many colors is a designer’s dream. This wonderful and affordable pearl has allowed me to create more ornate designs due to their unique forms. The pearl has helped to ‘dictate’ new styles in my gold shapes that house this queen of gems,” she said.

When Crevoshay began designing jewelry 14 years ago, she started with colored gemstones. After three years of designing with gemstones, Crevoshay began to work with a variety of shapes and colors of South Sea and Tahitian pearls. Since then pearls have been an integral part of her jewelry designs although Crevoshay has a passion for pearls, the use of colored stones in her designs is well known for combining styles of Asia of Asia with Western aesthetics, making for a distinct style. Crevoshay often uses opals, moonstones, pearls, tourmalines and chrysophrase in her jewelry creations.

Today’s jewelry consumers are a fickle and demanding bunch. They seem to want it all: quality materials, unique designs and affordable prices. Thee criteria can be confining, but baroque and designer pearls give jewelry designers the freedom to make unique creations while meeting market demands.