Bachendorf’s Fallon Bock says pearls, brooches are still having a moment

Pearls at the center of the buying conversation

Pearls are still having a moment, but the reason they feel current now has less to do with nostalgia than with reinvention. At JCK Las Vegas, Fallon Bock of Dallas-based Bachendorf’s is looking for pearl jewelry that reads fresh in the case and even fresher on the body, from chic earrings to statement necklaces and more fashion-forward forms.

That matters because JCK Las Vegas is the jewelry trade’s most important global gathering, and the 2026 show runs May 29 to June 1 at The Venetian Expo in Las Vegas. It is the kind of place where taste is tested in real time: buyers walk the aisles with one eye on discovery and the other on what will actually sell. Bock’s perspective sits right at that intersection.

A buyer who grew up with the show floor

Bock’s connection to JCK is personal as well as professional. She first attended the show as a teenager, around 15 or 16, with her father, Lawrence Bock, who is the owner and president of Bachendorf’s. That visit was the moment she decided to join the family business, which gives her current buying eye a useful double exposure: she knows the emotional pull of jewelry, but she also understands the practical demands of retail.

That balance is exactly why her comments resonate. Buyers like Bock are not simply responding to trend language, they are translating it into inventory. At JCK, that means separating what looks exciting under the lights from what will still feel elegant when a customer tries it on, walks it out of the store, and starts wearing it in real life.

Why pearls feel new again

JCK has been tracking pearl jewelry as a hot category, and the current version of the trend is notably less traditional than the classic single strand. Pearls are turning up in everyday layered looks, in multicolor strands, in pearl-and-diamond earrings, and in statement necklaces that push the material away from formality and toward styling range. The message is clear: the pearl is no longer confined to ceremony.

The strongest pieces are the ones that understand contrast. Baroque pearls bring irregularity and personality, which gives designers something more sculptural to work with. Open collars create negative space around the neck, making pearls feel architectural rather than prim. Pearl-and-gold jewelry adds warmth and polish, while pearl-and-diamond combinations sharpen the look and make it easier to read as fine jewelry with contemporary edge.

The settings doing the work

Much of the freshness comes down to how pearls are set. A pearl mounted in a clean bezel can feel crisp and urban, with a more defined silhouette that suits minimalist wardrobes. Prong settings, by contrast, leave more of the pearl exposed and can make the design feel lighter, more airy, and more jewel-like in motion. That difference matters because it changes the entire tone of the piece.

For earrings especially, new ways of setting pearls are part of the appeal. A pearl drop no longer has to look demure, and a pearl stud no longer has to feel predictable. Designers are using clever proportions, asymmetric pairings, and mixed materials to give familiar forms a sharper point of view. The result is a category that still feels elegant but no longer reads as inherited.

Why the market is leaning in now

JCK’s 2026 trend coverage says the show floor will be shaped by both design innovation and market realities, and pearls sit neatly inside that tension. Gold pricing pressures are nudging shoppers and retailers toward pieces that feel valuable without relying only on metal weight, and pearls answer that brief beautifully. They offer visual softness, texture, and a sense of luxury that does not depend on excess.

Color and versatility are also playing a larger role. Pearls adapt easily to mixed palettes, from white and cream to more saturated, multicolor strands, and they move comfortably between dressy and casual wear. That flexibility is one reason the category keeps widening its audience, especially when jewelry is serving as both adornment and emotional anchor in turbulent times.

Brooches, pearls, and the return of personal dressing

Bock’s comment about pearls appearing alongside brooches is telling. Both categories are benefiting from a broader shift in jewelry styling, one that prizes personality over strict convention. A brooch can now pin a jacket lapel, anchor knitwear, or add wit to a simple blouse; a pearl can do the same kind of work when it is set in an unexpected way or layered with other pieces.

JCK’s coverage of pearl jewelry has repeatedly emphasized the move toward more wearable, more immediate forms. That includes the kind of styling that appeals to younger buyers, who often want jewelry they can stack, layer, and repeat without feeling overdressed. Pearls have stepped into that space because they offer recognition and surprise at the same time.

What matters if you are buying

The pearl pieces worth paying attention to now are not necessarily the most traditional ones. They are the designs that use proportion, setting, and styling to make a familiar material feel newly edited. If a piece combines pearls with gold or diamond, or uses an open collar, a baroque shape, or a more inventive earring construction, it is probably speaking the language of the moment.

That is the commercial lesson inside Bock’s observation. Pearls are not simply back because they are classic. They are back because designers, buyers, and customers are finding new ways to wear them, and because those new forms fit the way jewelry is bought now: with one eye on beauty, and the other on relevance.