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Maxine Symons - Jewellery
Maxine was born in Bissoe,
Cornwall. After
leaving school, she studied at the Royal College of Music in London, where
she lived for many years. After a long career as a professional opera
singer and director, she returned to Cornwall in 2001, and now lives
near Crowan.
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Maxine
designs and makes jewellery using real cultured freshwater pearls,
sterling silver, and gold.
She has a
particular interest in early Roman jewellery, where the functional
develops seamlessly into the decorative.
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interest in freshwater pearls has developed over the years as the pearls
themselves have developed. The quality of pearls now produced is truly
staggering. |
The fabulous lustre, the wide range of natural colours, and
the vast variety of shapes and sizes available, make freshwater pearls
wonderfully inspiring.
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Many of
the pieces that Maxine makes are unique, as are the pearls themselves.
She likes
to allow each individual pearl to inspire the piece of jewellery that she
creates.
Above all,
she wants to make jewellery that will be worn. |
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When describing pearls there is often some confusion over the terms
real, natural and cultured.
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Natural
pearls are created by the mollusc alone, with no intervention from man -
they are extremely rare and very expensive.
Nowadays
the vast majority of the world's pearls are cultured - where
something has been implanted into the mollusc stimulating it to produce
nacre - and thus, a pearl.
Whether
seawater or freshwater, cultured pearls are the pearls most readily
available today.
Natural
and Cultured pearls are both real in the sense that they grow inside a
mollusc - imitation pearls do not.
Most of
the pearls used in Maxine's jewellery are real cultured freshwater pearls,
and are usually cultured in the mussel Hyriopsis Cumingi. They are
available in an infinite variety of colours, both dyed and natural, and
many fascinating and inspiring shapes and sizes.
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The word
NATURAL has two different meanings in the pearl world.
There are natural pearls as already described, and there are
natural
colour pearls, which are pearls that have not been dyed.
In real
cultured freshwater pearls natural colours vary from white, through cream,
gold, pink, apricot, lavender and a deep purple. There are no natural
colour black pearls in freshwater pearls.
In
seawater pearls there are natural black pearls called Black Tahitian
pearls. These grow in the black-lipped Oyster Pinctada Margaritifera and
vary in colour from silvery grey, through blue, green, aubergine and a
deep black.
Maxine
also uses these naturally black pearls in her Jewellery, as well as Blue Paua pearls from New Zealand, and Golden pearls from the Philippines. |
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Caring for your pearls
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Keep your pearls in a soft
pouch on their own, not with other jewellery, as they can easily be
scratched by gemstones.
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Put your make-up, hairspray
and perfume on first, and put your pearls on just before you go out. Do
not spray perfume onto your pearls. Beware of vinegar in salad
dressings. Beware of chlorine in swimming-pools.
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Do not keep pearls in a
hot, dry place. Remember where they come from.
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It is a good idea to wipe
your pearls with a soft, damp cloth before putting them away, to remove
the sweat and dirt that will accumulate over time.
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Have your pearls re-strung
once a year.
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Pearls like to be worn.
Maxine Symons
Phone:
01209 831420
E-mail:
maxine@crowancrafts.co.uk
www.maxinepearls.co.uk
Maxine's
jewellery is available from her Web site or by contacting her direct
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