What to do with a 55 mm pearl -- challenge accepted!

About a year and a half ago, Hisano and I brought back a truly giant, baroque pearl from Asia. It measured a whopping 55 mm in length and 35 mm in width. The shape was very interesting as well. It looked to some like the beginnings of a wooly mammoth, others saw clouds. To me it looked like the potential for something big and something special. It just needed an artist with a vision to create something amazing.

In a blog post back in June of 2013, we asked the question, "what to do with a 55 mm pearl?" I am thankful to say that a dear friend of mine and long-time member of the Pearl-Guide community answered that question.

Sheri Jurnecka of Junecka Creations loves big pearls. She also has a special affinity toward octupi, and likes to use giant single pearls as bulbous heads.

A Jurnecka Creation

Sheri spent quite a while thinking about the different possibilities for such a pearl. She sketched several different options before having a moment of realization. This giant behemouth of a pearl looked strikingly similar to the body of a leafy sea dragon!

Leafy Sea Dragon, courtesy of Wikipedia

The leafy sea dragon is native to the southern part of Australia and is aptly named due to its uncanny resemblance to a dragon. But unlike its fire-breathing mythical cousin, this dragon grows only around 20 centimeters in length and lives underwater. Sheri used this creature as a source of inspiration to create a stunning piece of art.

At the Pearl-Guide ruckus two weekends ago (another blog post will be coming on that in the not-too-distant future), Sheri unveiled her answer to the challenge -- what to do with a 55 mm pearl.