Bellissimi earrings spotlight South Sea pearls in New York week

Bellissimi earrings led New York jewelry week with 12.6 mm to 14.2 mm South Sea pearls, 2.55 cts. t.w. of diamonds and 18k white gold, a $23,600 pair from Mastoloni that made size the point. The look was not a quiet pearl stud or a decorative afterthought; it was a polished, high-visibility earring built to carry an outfit from the ear up.

Mastoloni describes its pearl range as naturally colored cultured Akoya, Freshwater and South Sea pearls, but the Bellissimi pair sat firmly in the luxury end of the line. Another Mastoloni South Sea pearl and diamond earring listing used 10 mm pearls, .75 carats of brilliant diamonds, 18k white gold and Omega backs, a useful comparison that shows how the house treats South Sea pearls as a serious fine-jewelry category rather than a novelty silhouette.

That positioning mattered against the rest of the Manhattan jewelry week. The Jeweled Collective pop-up ran June 25 to 28 at Alessandro Berni Gallery, 511 W. 25th St., in Chelsea, with about 20 exhibitors including Amazing Jewelry, KIL NYC, Halle’s Jewels, Alpha Omega Jewelry, Forever Jewelry, Greenwich Bazaar, Rosaria Varra and Sean Randall. The mix of vintage, antique and contemporary work put a premium on pieces that read quickly and cleanly, and oversized South Sea pearl earrings did exactly that.

The same polish showed up across town at the American Museum of Natural History, where For the Win: Objects of Sports Excellence ran through early 2027 with shiny objects such as a diamond tennis bracelet, Tiffany trophies and championship rings. In that company, the Bellissimi earrings felt less like a formal pearl update than a deliberate style cue for the season, the kind of jewel that works with a sharp blazer, a black evening dress or a crisp shirt worn open at the neck.

For New York clients who want one piece to do the talking, the oversized South Sea pearl has the advantage of visibility. It carries the softness associated with pearls, but the scale, the diamonds and the white-gold setting give it the assertiveness of a contemporary evening jewel, exactly the balance that keeps the look modern in a crowded market.