[pearlescence]

A customer has asked me for 2mm half drilled black pearls....do these even exist?

[jshepherd]

I suppose they could exist, but I do not see the point. An average post is 0.8 mm. If your customer was going to make earrings they would nearly be invisible!
The smallest pearl studs I have seen are in the 4-5 mm range.

[pearlescence]

I thought that, thank you Jeremy.
There would not be much room for pearl around the hole!

[The Pearl Outlet]

We can get them. PM me for price. -- 2-2.5mm AA Black Akoya Half-drills.

[jshepherd]

Not much pearl at all. It would come to 0.6 mm on each side of the post. If the post has any sort of cup, forget about it! Also, try drilling a pearl only 1.25 mm and sticking a post in it. That sounds like a feat.

Your customer may not know what he/she really wants. I once had a customer call and tell me he wanted a giant South Sea strand- around 22 mm. He seemed pretty serious and swore that a friend of his had purchased one for his wife. It took us a long time to find a strand that graduated up to 21 mm so I found it hard to believe. I said it "might" be possible. He wanted top-gem grade as well. When I finally asked what his price range was he responded, "between $5000 and $6000". The way he said it nearly (and I do say "nearly") made me laugh. He used a tone like, "I am really serious about this". After telling him that the piece he described is closer to $500,000 than $5000 he was incredulous. I could tell he did not believe me. Needless to say, we did not sell him a South Sea strand.

[pearlescence]

This customer phoned me and I was much the same as you with your customer...then she ordered a strand of 4mm rounds since the smallest came out at about 3mm.
Then she emailed me to say that she wanted half drilled....I did not email back asking what she thought held the pearls in the strand..I have suggested that she file them down in half to about the drill hole...
But since she has a prestigious address I would like to try if I can...I do like a challenge

[Caitlin]

he wanted a giant South Sea strand- around 22 mm.

He sounds like a good candidate for shell pearls.....

[Valeria101]

Perhaps the tiny half drilled pearls will be set around a larger gem or such? That's the only normal use I can think of for them. As these would be part of a setting, I am suprised that the jeweler making it isn't providing the peals... who knows...

[JWei]

I have some loose fresh water half drilled round pearls with diameter 2.2-2.5 mm (also necklaces with diameter 2 mm).
Last year, I have some loose round pearls with diameter 1.8-2.0mm.
It is difficult to drill small pearls. Generally, the customers do not need the half drilled pearls. They just use glue.

[pearlescence]

It must be the week for odd requests - just had a call from a customer who wants a white round pearl weighing 5 grams exactly to put in a ring so that the pearl touches the skin underneath.
I am off to the post office in the morning to get some pearls weighed
Incidentally a Hatton Garden (the jewellery centre of the UK) quoted her £800 (about $1,600)for one pearl.That must have been some pearl they had

[JWei]

A round pearl with 5 gram has a diameter 15.2-15.3. The price is dependent strongly upon the quality. It is probably better to buy SSP.

[Valeria101]

Originally Posted by pearlescence

... a customer who wants a white round pearl weighing 5 grams exactly to put in a ring so that the pearl touches the skin underneath.

That sounds like an Jyotish (Vedic astrology) p r escription to me. Where there is one...

In theory, the requirement is for all-nacre pearls, but who knows.

[pearlescence]

Vedic astrology - can you tell me more. it sounds fascinating.
what do pearls have to do with it? are they supposed to be beneficial?

[Valeria101]

Originally Posted by pearlescence

Vedic astrology - can you tell me more. it sounds fascinating.
what do pearls have to do with it? are they supposed to be beneficial?

I am afraid I only know the system exists - had to become aware of some details because many of my colleagues in London were into it.

Here's a sample:

http://www.palagems.com/birthstones.htm

on that page, go down to the 'Navaratna' pin and the link next to it.

[pearlescence]

Okay, I now have the 2mm black pearls from Terry and the Pearl Outlet. It has been something of a saga...which I wanted to share because I want publicly to say that TPO has been great to do business with since just about everything which could go wrong has done

The first lot of pearls have simply disappeared somewhere mid-ocean.

With my customer in a swivet because she was up against a commission deadline I asked Terry to send some more, which were sent by Fedex. I did not know this as Terry's computer had exploded. So when I did not hear anything I sent an email asking for a refund .

Terry did not send a tracking number, which was a pity because I was away all day when they tried to deliver. Someone - I think in Fedex - decided the pearls were for someone called John Esence, though the address and post code, which identifies Pearlescence HQ specifically, was correct. However MR Fedex decided that the whole thing was wrong and first went to the next town to see if John Esence was there. Then came back here and went up and down the street until he managed to raise my next door neighbour and give her the pearls.

He did not put a note through the door saying he had done this so I carried on waiting for the pearls to arrive and she was waiting for me to ask for them (she had promptly gone on night duty too so did not see me) Fedex said to TPO that the pearls had been left with my receptionist (no, I'm not that big an operation). Finally last night - managed to check with neighbour and get the pearls. In the meantime TPO had actually phoned to try to work out what was going on.

Thanks Terry, your attention to detail and willingness to chase to make sure the deal is carried through is right up to mine - and I am very fussy indeed about business efficiency and customer service.

This also goes to show that once something starts to go wrong it just goes on getting wronger and wronger and wronger!