[He's too surprised to do more than just accept the kiss at first, but then he relaxes when it does sink in that she does in fact like—love—the gift. A small sigh of relief mixed with a wry laugh escapes his lips as his nose brushes against hers, head leaning forward so that their foreheads touch as his eyes first meets hers before drifting down.]

I wasn't sure... I know you always wear the pendant, but I thought you deserved better options for whenever we went out to nicer places.

[More importantly he just wanted to get her something nice. Something that would be seen as luxury. Gemstones are not so difficult to find, and while he's never given her anything "cheap," most are things he's found on his own and had them crafted. These pearls are genuine and appraised for a much higher value. Still within his means, but he might have stretched his budget a bit for them.

So while there was certainly a lot of inherent worth in things he's had a more personal hand in, there was a different value here that he also wanted her to have. And that was something very new for him to do.]