What Is Accessible Jewellery? A Guide to Easy-to-Wear Pearl Jewellery

Understanding which design elements make jewellery easier to wear is the first step to finding accessible jewellery pieces you will reach for again and again.

The clasp is perhaps the single most important factor in accessible jewellery. Traditional spring ring clasps or parrot clasps, small, fiddly and requiring precise finger movements, can be genuinely difficult for people with limited dexterity. Here is how the alternatives compare: 

Toggle clasps feature a bar that passes through a circular loop, requiring only a simple push-and-pull motion. They are among the most accessible clasp types available and add a lovely design detail in their own right. 

Magnetic clasps snap together effortlessly with no pinching or threading required, making them ideal for those with arthritis or reduced grip strength. They are particularly well suited to bracelets. 

Lobster clasps are more secure than spring rings and slightly easier to operate, though they still require reasonable finger dexterity. 

Slider ball clasps allow the wearer to adjust length and secure the piece by simply sliding a small ball along the chain, intuitive and requiring very little grip. The Savanna Bracelet from our Savanna collection is a beautiful example of this design in practice. Featuring a Cygnet Bay or Broken Bay Australian-grown pearl set on an 18ct gold chain with a slider ball clasp, it is a piece that celebrates the understated beauty of a single, beautiful gem, and slips on and off with genuine ease.

For those who find clasps particularly challenging, designs that eliminate the clasp entirely offer true freedom of wear. 

Our Float Collection is a wonderful example. Inspired by the floating long-lines at our Cygnet Bay and Broken Bay pearl farms, the aquaculture systems where our pearls are suspended above the ocean floor as they grow, each Float bracelet features an expandable silver bead construction, an innovative technology designed to flex gently onto the wrist without any clasp at all.

The polished silver beads form a continuous line, with an Australian Akoya pearl from Broken Bay (NSW) or an Australian South Sea pearl from Cygnet Bay (WA) appearing to drift among them, just as our pearl shell panels float at sea. They can be worn alone for a clean, minimal statement, or layered with our expandable Gemstone Bracelets for a more considered look. 

The Terra Collection takes a different approach to the same principle. Born of the elements, its name meaning "the land itself", Terra brings together hand-crafted zirconium ceramic links and Australian South Sea pearls from our Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm in Western Australia.

The rings and bracelets in the Terra range are designed to be expandable, fitting most wearers without requiring precise sizing. This is particularly wonderful for those whose joints change and swell with the seasons, making a fixed-size ring or bracelet an uncomfortable proposition. Zirconium ceramic is also remarkably resistant to scratching, lightweight against the skin, and sits beautifully for daily wear. 

Expandable rings more broadly, open-band designs that adjust gently to the finger, are another excellent choice for those who find sliding a traditional ring on and off difficult or uncomfortable. 

The weight of a piece matters more than many peoplerealise. Heavy earrings can pull uncomfortably on the lobe over time; a weighty necklace can place strain on the neck or shoulders.

Lightweight jewellery reduces fatigue and makes longer wear far more comfortable. Pearls are wonderfully light by nature, and both ceramic and expandable silver bead constructions keep pieces gentle and undemanding to wear.