The Hidden Meaning Behind Kamala Harris's Inauguration Jewelry
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On this historic day, as Kamala Harris is being sworn in as our country’s first woman, first Black, and first South Asian vice president, she is making sure to pay tribute to the people who have paved the way for this moment. She is being sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic and Latinx person and only the third woman to serve on the court. And she is taking her oath of office on two Bibles: one that belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court justice and Harris’s political role model, and another that belonged to her childhood neighbor, Regina Shelton, whom she has called a surrogate mother.
But it is Harris’s consistent show of loyalty to her sorority sisters, the women who have been some of her most vocal supporters throughout her political career, that is perhaps her most obvious—and most endearing—tribute.
Harris’s ever-present pearl necklace might seem like a safe bet at her inauguration today, but this particular piece of jewelry is imbued with symbolism. It represents her Howard University sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA), the first African American Greek-letter sorority. The founders of AKA are often referred to as the “Twenty Pearls,” and in a show of honor and sisterhood, Harris has worn a pearl necklace at nearly every important life occasion since her graduation from college.
She made her family-first commitment clear when she accepted the historic vice-presidential nomination last August (while wearing pearls), and said: “My mother instilled in my sister Maya and me the values that we chart. She taught us to put family first. [Both] the family you're born into and the family you choose.”
Today's symbolic look
Today, Harris didn’t wear a classic strand of pearls. Instead, she selected a more stylized expression by Wilfredo Rosado, a jewelry designer who, like Harris, is the son of immigrant parents.
When he was approached by Harris's stylist in September to submit designs for the then vice-presidential candidate, he didn’t know they would ultimately be for the all-important inauguration day jewels. The New York-based designer, who is known for the imaginative way he worked with pearls in his new W. Rosado collection, was honored by the request. “I always admired Kamala, especially when I watched her as a senator questioning the Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanagh,” he says. “I loved her sass, I loved her approach, and was she very relatable to me.”
Rosado’s challenge was to take pearls—gems that are so feminine and classic—and make them strong and modern, but not too fashion-forward. “Kamala represents power and a tough woman,” Rosado explains, “and pearls are so gentle, feminine, and precious.” Like he so often does, the designer turned to hip-hop and street culture for inspiration.
“When I think of hip-hop style, the artists are always wearing heavy chain links, and I decided to combine that with pearls,” he says. The result is a necklace with large oval 18K gold links, each set with a small diamond and an Australian South Sea pearl that appears to be suspended within the link. Rosado presented the stylist with sketches of three different pearl design options, and she knew right away this was the one. It’s an update on the classic pearl that feels fresh, while staying true to Harris’s restrained sense of style.
Kamala's inauguration jewelry is just the latest way that Rosado has restyled classic pearls. The designer made his mark last year with a playful collection of pearls that was a huge Instagram hit. His Pearl ID series—inspired by the plastic friendship bracelets that many kids made at summer camp—features the white gems embedded with diamond or gemstone initials and symbols. He explains, “I made pearls cool and hip, and I personalized them.”
The history of pearl and politics
Pearls have always been part of the D.C. political uniform, in part because they represent classicism and virtue; they're also the most common jewels in Biblical imagery. Mary Todd Lincoln notably wore a Tiffany pearl necklace to her husband’s Presidential inaugural ball, and First Ladies Jackie Kennedy and Barbara Bush were known to sport strands of pearls frequently to official events. But Vice President Harris is of a different generation—and she is a woman who has risen higher in our country’s leadership than any woman before her.
That’s why Rosado felt pressure to create something that truly reflected Harris. “I wanted to keep the taste level high and respect the boundaries of what’s expected of a D.C. political luminary, but still push the envelope,” he says. Fortunately, he has had some experience designing for a political great. He made chandelier diamond earrings for First Lady Michelle Obama to wear to an event when President Obama was still in office, but she couldn’t accept them as a gift because the monetary value was too high. She loved them so much that the president purchased the earrings for his wife for her 50th birthday. “I photographed that check and it’s near and dear to me,” says Rosado.
Over the next four years, Harris will almost certainly continue to show solidarity with her sisterhood through her pearls, and by now, everyone is in on the secret. She’s been seen in all kinds of varieties, from strands of Irene Neuwirth pearls interspersed with chain links, to black Tahitian pearls and classic white strands to today's modern styling, so expect to see a surge in creative pearl jewelry designs inspired by Washington’s most powerful woman.
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