Aesthetic interpretations are as unique as fingerprints. Give three people the same trendy sweater and each will wear it in a different way. Give three jewelry designers the same unusual cultured pearl and each will design a distinctly different piece. Such was the challenge MJSA Journal posed to three innovative talents in the jewelry industry: Katey Brunini of Solana Beach, California; Ernesto Moreira of Houston; and Alishan Halebian (best known as only Alishan) of Irvine, California.

The pearl—an Australian beauty cultivated by Paspaley Pearl and supplied by its U.S. distributor, Stuller Inc. in Lafayette, Louisiana—is truly one of a kind. Measuring 19.75 mm long by 17.15 mm wide, the unusual drop circle pearl has a smaller pearl protruding from a hole in its top. On the following pages, Brunini, Moreira, and Alishan tell how they arrived at their design choices given the curious characteristics of this pearl.