A Tradition Begins

In 2011, Aida Leisure, owner of Silver Linings, noticed an emerging trend in gift giving, particularly for occasions like high school and college graduations. Traditional gifts of fine jewelry and lasting keepsakes were being replaced by tech gadgets and less personal objects that quickly become obsolete.

That’s when Aida made the decision to keep the tradition of giving fine jewelry to graduates alive. Between 2011–2022, Silver Linings has gifted almost 2,500 Pearls of Promise Necklaces to every young woman high school graduate in Talbot County, Maryland, where our store is located. Now in 2023, for the first time, we are also including Kent County, Maryland, as we have a new store in Chestertown, Maryland. Pearls are a symbolic gift for the graduates, most of whom were born and raised on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, an area famous for the Eastern Oyster.

In 2020, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Pearls of Promise, we expanded the program to the national level and made the Pearls of Promise Necklace available to purchase for all high school and college graduates.

Why Pearls?

Simply put, pearls are timeless.

Pearls form within the soft tissue of a living oyster when a tiny foreign object is introduced. The oyster forms a protective layer of nacre around this foreign object, resulting in a beautiful pearl.

“Every young woman in Talbot County, Maryland will now own and wear a classic piece of jewelry, since I began the program in 2011,” says Aida. “It may be the predominant accessory she wears for professional interviews. It very well could be worn on her wedding day, and she might even pass the necklace on to a child in future years. Even if she never purchases or receives another piece of fine jewelry in her life, she will always have her Pearls of Promise. I am very excited to now be including the young women of Kent County, Maryland, in this program. The future is bright with these new generations.”

Aida also wants to ensure that young women nationwide have the opportunity to purchase at an affordable price a Pearls of Promise Necklace, as a beautiful remembrance of her high school or college graduation. Both are accomplishments worthy of such acknowledgement.

“Every young woman in Talbot County, Maryland will now own and wear a classic piece of jewelry, since I began the program in 2011,” says Aida. “It may be the predominant accessory she wears for professional interviews. It very well could be worn on her wedding day, and she might even pass the necklace on to a child in future years. Even if she never purchases or receives another piece of fine jewelry in her life, she will always have her Pearls of Promise. I am very excited to now be including the young women of Kent County, Maryland, in this program. The future is bright with these new generations.”

Aida also wants to ensure that young women nationwide have the opportunity to purchase at an affordable price a Pearls of Promise Necklace, as a beautiful remembrance of her high school or college graduation. Both are accomplishments worthy of such acknowledgement.

The Necklace

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