The conversation began as my phone conversations with one particular friend often do: with no preamble.

“Hello! I’m looking for a pair of pearl drop earrings like the ones that thrifty duchess always wears,” she said, in lieu of “hello, how are you.”

What earrings? Which duchess? And since when are duchesses thrifty….?

It turns out my sharp-eyed pal had spotted something that might be surprising to anyone who has never owned pearl drops. The former Kate Middleton has been wearing a pair of beautiful white baroque pearls to every kind of event for years now. The same earrings, over and over again, despite the fact her husband is in line for the throne.

Maybe that’s a sign of thrift? Or maybe it’s because they’re so flattering and go with absolutely everything that they’ve become her go-to earrings.

Pearl drops are ageless and timeless so it’s not unusual to have a pair in your wardrobe for life. They’re lovely on everyone from a 70something Helen Mirren to a teenage Taylor Swift.

And for a working woman who wants earrings that are elegant without being too fussy, a substantial white baroque pearl is just the thing for collecting an Oscar…

… or sitting for a portrait

A rope of freshwater pearls may well be worth a king’s ransom, but just two high quality complexion-flattering pearls won’t break the bank.

Is it any wonder pearl drops have been everyone’s favourite earring for centuries?