In the early weeks of a new baby, almost everything arrives addressed to someone who cannot yet say thank you. The babygros, the soft toys, the tiny socks all land for the child, and rightly so.

In the early weeks of a new baby, almost everything arrives addressed to someone who cannot yet say thank you. The babygros, the soft toys, the tiny socks all land for the child, and rightly so.

Open most jewellery boxes and you find the same thing: a tangle of pieces bought on a whim, and three or four favourites that get worn almost every day.

There is a particular freedom in a small bag and a long trip ahead, and a particular irritation in untangling a knot of chains on a hotel bed at midnight.

There is a particular morning most of us know well. You are half dressed, the day is already running ahead of you, and you reach into the drawer for whatever you wear without thinking.

Maybe you have a drawer with a few pieces in it, given or bought with good intentions, and they have stayed there. Every so often you try one on, feel slightly like you are wearing a costume, and take it off again.

Pearls carry a reputation for being formal, saved for weddings and special occasions and tucked away the rest of the year. The modern way of wearing them looks nothing like that memory, and once you have seen it you will reach for pearls far more…