5 Pearl Rings That Showcase the Organic Gem’s Surprising Versatility

In early 2020, many pearl retailers noted a surprising development in the pearl trade: Celebrities, such as Emma Stone, were getting engaged with pearls, not diamonds.

“We do see interest in pearls as engagement rings, part and parcel of a voracious appetite for pearls right now,” Leigh Batnick Plessner, co–creative director of the Brooklyn, N.Y.–based retailer Catbird, told The New York Times. “I wonder if reimagining the pearl, which was co-opted for so long as very staid and traditional, is making them more modern and low-key and less fussy, and if that has any overlap with people’s desires to treat everything related to weddings the same way.”

Paloma ring in 14k yellow gold with pearls and 0.07 ct. t.w. diamonds, $2,400; Ashley Zhang 

While bridal sellers with a stock of classic diamond engagement rings don’t have anything to fear from the pearl competition, the development highlighted the pearl’s shape-shifting possibilities, as well as its power to surprise.

Sorbet ring in rose gold with peach and light copper Edison pearls, price on request; Cora Sheibani

Those qualities are on full display in the selection of rings we’ve highlighted. From Ashley Zhang’s classic-with-a-twist take on the three-stone ring to Cora Sheibani’s playful sorbet-flavored two-pearl cocktail stunner, the rings offer something for pearl lovers of all styles and persuasions.

Mushroom Garden signet ring in 14k yellow gold with hand-painted mother-of-pearl and diamonds, $13,165; Jacquie Aiche

In her Mushroom Garden signet ring, for example, Jacquie Aiche uses mother-of-pearl as a tiny canvas for a beautifully illustrated scene (there’s fungus among us!), while the private jeweler Grace Tang places a perfectly round golden pearl in a diamond setting befitting a princess.

Golden Fruit ring in 18k gold with golden pearl and 1.4 cts. t.w. diamonds, $20,000; Grace Tang

Last but certainly not least, designer Lauren Harwell Godfrey uses a grouping of eight tiny white freshwater pearls to tell a nostalgic story about 1975, the year she was born. The collection includes four wildly different capsules, each inspired by a different aspect of the decade. In her Granny Squares capsule, which includes the pearl ring featured at top, Harwell Godfrey draws inspiration from the homespun charm of crocheted blankets and hand-me-down heirlooms. It’s a fitting metaphor for the pearl’s own evolution: once a symbol of restraint and formality, now reborn as something deeply personal, and truly unexpected.

Top: Granny Squares “Dorothy” mini ring in 18k yellow gold with pearls, tsavorites, and diamonds, $3,995; Harwell Godfrey