Pearls have made a comeback with an edgier look

Pearls have mesmerised us with their beauty and allure since antiquity. Over thousands of years they have been associated with wealth, royalty, power and glamour - and, right now, in the world of fashion, they are having their moment.

Long cascading strings of pearls and multistrand bracelets worn by Carey Mulligan in The Great Gatsby kicked off a revival this summer.

Tiffany & Co., which collaborated with costume designer Catherine Martin, created the jewellery for the film, and some of those pieces are now part of Tiffany's Beyond the Blue collection and its more accessible sister range, the Ziegfeld collection.

If you think pearls only appeal to older customers, think again. Rihanna was draped from neck to waist in ropes of pearls from Chanel's costume jewellery collection when she attended the brand's haute couture show in July, suggesting that pearls have a far funkier image these days.

Designers are shedding that "old lady" image of pearls by making them look edgier. Pearls are paired with contrasting materials, such as onyx in black gold settings, for a more dynamic look. Chanel, for instance, has created a yin and yang effect with their pearl and onyx beaded bracelets and tassel earrings in their Contraste de Camelia fine jewellery collection.

Shaun Leane, who made his name with the darkly menacing tribal jewellery that appeared in early Alexander McQueen shows, uses pale luminous pearl orbs to contrast with the spiky black diamond claws in his Tribal Deco collection, creating an edgy look that appeals to younger clients. These come with fine jewellery price tags.

More accessible is his Cherry Blossom collection, which uses thorny branches of gold vermeil to contrast with the sweet enamel blossoms and pearl buds. The collection has proved to be particularly popular with his young Asian customers at Selfridges and Lane Crawford.

Hong Kong jewellery designer Dickson Yewn says wearing multistrand pearl bracelets is far more chic and trendy than the traditional strand of pearls around the neck with a ring. There are some desirable iridescent freshwater pearl bracelets with exquisite precious stone detail in his collections.

Yewn believes the young crowd should avoid the big, voluptuous South Sea pearls, even though they are among the finest.

Natural, saltwater pearls are so rare and their prices so stratospheric that they are regarded as the ultimate trophy in high jewellery. A simple double strand of 150 matching saltwater pearls sold recently at auction in Hong Kong for HK$18.9 million.