Shari Turpin wears her favorite type of pearl, golden South Sea pearls. The Pearls By Shari jewelry designer recently launched a new collection for the luxury department store Neiman Marcus.
Shari Turpin wears her favorite type of pearl, golden South Sea pearls. The Pearls By Shari jewelry designer recently launched a new collection for the luxury department store Neiman Marcus.
The only gemstone to come from a living creature, natural pearls are a rarity — and so is a local Jackson brand going national with a luxury department store.
Pearls By Shari, a jewelry business over 30 years old with a store in Jackson and one in Park City, Utah, now has an even larger retail reach than quaint ski towns at high elevations — the collection launched with Neiman Marcus in March of this year.
Known for its selection of designer jewelry, Neiman Marcus is a luxury and multi-brand department store with 36 retail locations, and includes Bergdorf Goodman and The Horchow Collection.
“The collection featured in NM has been a long time coming,” said Rachel Warren, head of branding and marketing for Pearls By Shari. The founder of the company, Shari Turpin, is Warren’s mother.
Japanese Akoya pearls set in 18k white and yellow gold and South Sea pearls with colorful gemstones amidst 18k gold designs are among the pieces that have been added to Neiman Marcus’ catalog, website and store cases.
“We are constantly inspired by the women we meet each day in our stores and the upcoming generation of women who are forging new paths while wearing pearls. The Neiman Marcus collection is inspired by those women, created to bring together multi-purpose, versatile designs for the next generation,” Shari Turpin said.
“Every life is unique and precious, just like two pearls are not alike, people are created perfectly just as they are, and so are the pearls.”
Having received recognition from pearl buyers, conservationists, farm owners, and more for many years, Turpin has become an award-winning spokesperson for the pearl industry and was recently featured by the Republican Convention and the National Pearl Association.
“We are excited for this next step into retail representation,” Warren said.
One of the most identifying characteristics of Pearls by Shari is the relationships Turpin has forged with pearl farmers around the world, especially for the rare golden South Sea pearl.
“I am known for my passion for the rarest pearl on earth,” Turpin said. “Eighty percent of U.S. jewelers will never handle a golden South Sea pearl. I am not sure anyone realizes how much inventory moves through our shop.”
The jewelry designer, who works with a team of international goldsmiths to produce her collections, said customers fly in from everywhere, even Dubai, to buy her pearls, and that the shop often receives handwritten thank you notes and bouquets from appreciative buyers.
“And we’re the ones selling the jewelry!” Turpin said.
Turpin works with pearl farmers who are often generational operators with decades of knowledge, which according to Warren is the first step in creating the legacy of each pearl strand.
Turpin began jewelry designing as a young mother and sold her designs wholesale to retailers throughout the country. During the process of utilizing beads and gems in her jewelry, the pearl became her focal point because of their beauty, rarity and story.
“Every woman can wear them well and everyone can afford them — it’s the perfect thing for everyone,” said Turpin, who sees people react to her jewelry regularly. “I always wear my Teton bracelets, and people will cross lobbies to ask me about the bracelets — and not the thousands of dollars’ worth of necklaces I am wearing.”
The Neiman Marcus launch was intended for three locations, but Turpin said they are now carried in over a dozen stores, including Chicago and Beverly Hills. Jackson remains Pearls By Shari’s flagship outpost.
“Buyers have come into the shop for years while on vacation and are always amazed to find world-class pearls in Wyoming. Now is the right time for Neiman Marcus. My kids are grown and have children of their own, giving me the time to commit to this transition.”
Pearls By Shari also opened a French-styled and upscale jewelry salon in 2020, Luster. Normally open by appointment only, Luster’s next trunk show event is scheduled for Dec. 19-22.
Contact Tibby Plasse via 732-7071 or editor@jhnewsandguide.com.
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