When the world is your oyster

The Australian 10/12/10

When Telstra Australian Businesswoman of the Year finalist Sarina Bratton set sail on her Orion cruise line's inaugural voyage, she bought herself a large Paspaley pearl to mark the occasion.

Three years on, when the majority of shares in Orion Expedition Cruises were sold, she did it again, this time a threepearl gold bracelet. "It's about celebrating important milestones in my professional career," Bratton says.

For some of Australia's most successful businesswomen, buying a beautiful pearl - or splurging on a strand of them - is a rite of passage as they climb the top rungs of the corporate ladder.

"Pearls are increasingly sought after by women as a deeply personal recognition of their success, of reaching a goal they've been striving towards for a long time," Sonia Mackay-Coghill, the general manager of pearl jeweller Kailis, says.

"The enduring beauty and simple sophistication of pearls are a perfect representation of that."

Marilynne Paspaley, a director of the Paspaley Group, agrees. "When you walk into a room full of successful businesswomen, their overriding jewel of choice is the pearl. It's thrilling for us that they celebrate their success with our jewellery.

It's also unique to Australia."

Women spotted recently in great pearls, some the size of Kool Mints, include Katie Lahey, Annabelle Bennett, Natalie Bloom, Erin Flaherty, Helen Lynch, Robyn Nevin, Patricia Rochford, Sarina Russo, Gai Waterhouse and Belinda Yabsley.