The Lily's association with purity and the divine is one that predates Christ and is shared through many cultures. The Romans believed that the first Lily sprang from the milk of Juno while Roman Christians believed it came from the milk of Mary. In Middle Eastern traditions the flower is assigned to Lilith, hence the name Lily. Although the Lily is a flower that is associated with women, it is thought that the giving of a lily from a man to a woman symbolizes their enduring and divine unity. It was written that Gabriel, whose name means 'divine husband', was holding a lily when he announced to Mary that she would bear a divine child. For a lover to give a lily is to offer an eternal union, which is why the lily is so often seen at weddings, and yet for a woman to wear a lily is to celebrate her own femininity. The Lily set is made entirely with pearls and gold. The small oblong pearls are formed in freshwater while the round pearls that are set in the center of the open lily are cultured saltwater pearls. The most unusual pearl used to make the lily are the tiny, sand like Japanese seed pearls, which are extremely difficult to cultivate. The pearl is thought to be an aphrodisiac as well as a symbol of love and marriage which may be related to the process a grain of sand must go through to become a pearl. Beginning as a tiny piece of sand the pearl must go through a transformation that requires irritation of the oyster to produce a beautifully smooth pearl, this process is symbolically akin to the beginning and maturing of a relationship. While the pearl is representative of wisdom and maturity, gold offers strength of heart to the wearer, which is often needed to perfect any human relationship. This set was made in the hope that a strong and wise woman would wear this as a reminder of not only the relationships we have with others but also of the relationship we have with ourselves, and while cultivating our personality can at times be an irritating process the result is always a beautiful pearl of wisdom.

The Box

The box is adorned with freshwater and cultured pearls as well as 14k gold beads sewn on raw white silk. The box is lined with hand screened Japanese paper and a raw silk cushion. The box is designed as a keepsake that can be passed down to each new generation.