HIDDEN LUXURIES Average woman’s jewellery box is home to around ￡186 of unworn trinkets

This adds up to a staggering ￡6.2bn of Cheap Jewelry Sites stored in boxes up and down the country in total.A poll of 2,000 women found 70 per cent choose to wear the same pieces of jewellery from their collection day after day, rather than mix them up.

However, despite the lack of variety in their accessorising habits, purchasing new jewellery is one of British women’s favourite pastimes.One in five also admit that buying new jewellery is their ‘favourite affordable luxury.’

The research was conducted by Thorntons to launch its new, luxury chocolate, Thorntons Pearls.Stylist to the stars Nisha Grewel said: “Pearls are having a resurgence and are firmly established as the must have gemstone of 2019.“We saw pearls added to headbands, jackets and even denim on the Spring/Summer catwalks, offering a modern twist to a longtime classic.

When it comes to decorative stones, pearls are a popular choice with 57 per cent of women now owning a piece of pearl jewellery, up four per cent from 2017.The popularity of pearls has skyrocketed among young fashionistas this year with a third of 18 to 24-year olds snapping up at least one pearl accessory in the last six months.

Meanwhile, over half of women have received a pearl item as a family heirloom.More than one in ten women, polled via OnePoll, admit Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have made pearls popular again by updating the public’s image of the traditional gemstone.

The most iconic image featuring pearls was voted as Marilyn Monroe’s iconic ensemble in hit movie ‘Some Like it Hot’.Princess Diana’s signature sapphire and pearl set came in second, and Vermeer’s masterpiece ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ placed third.To celebrate the enduring popularity of pearls as a fashion accessory, Thorntons has recreated some of the nation’s favourite iconic pearl-wearing moments – with a twist.