To knot, bead space, or bumpers- Oh My!

[Pearly-Whites]

Great job Abi!! Wire wrapping isn't easy and it looks great! Beautiful pearls...

 

[BWeaves]

Wow, that was fast! It turned out great! Love the neck shot.

I wouldn't even consider tin-cup necklaces for years, because I hated the term "tin-cup." I thought the pearls were mounted in tin cups. Doh!
When I read that they were named after the movie Tin-Cup, and not after some weird construction technique, I was more open to them.
I think the original was spaced on silk thread and not wire wrapped. I remember a lot of floating pearls strung on clear thread way back when. I really prefer the look of the wire wrapped tin-cup necklaces, especially when the chain is a bit more substantial and adds to the design of the necklace.

 

[Karman]

Great work Abi!! This is my favourite style of necklace to make, I can get a short/mini strand of pearls I really like, and turn it into a necklace without shelling more $$ for a full strand.

 

[Abi]

Pearl Dreams:
Thank you so much for clearing up the history of tin cup- I never knew! Thank you for your compliments, I hope to meet you in a Ruckus in the future!

KatBran, Pearly-Whites:
Thank you for the compliments, y'all are too sweet.

Bweaves: Thank you! I was so nervous about the neckshot! I'm not a huge fan of my neck, but I love staring at pearl strands.

Your history with tin cups made me laugh! I thought the same thing when I first heard the term. Thanks to PearlDreams and the lovely people on PG, I understand it better.

Karman- MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY! I would LOVE to own a strand-okay I'm going to be honest, I would love to own different strands of tahitians (dark, light, mix color, ombre.), but I thankfully found a few lovelies that I'm enjoying and can now wear. I'm thinking I can enjoy wearing them, and if I end up getting more pearls that I love, I can either add on, or make something new... I just love the options I have now!

What I didn't show is that the chain I attached is actually longer and had wire wrapped toggle clasps where I would like to wear it shorter.

I felt it was much easier to take off, put on and I still have the option of wearing it longer (to oogle my pearls) or shorter. you can see a little toggle in my picture, but I didn't really care since usually my hair is down. if it's up, I'll just endure any faux pas lectures from anyone who cares enough to notice them.

I had finished rewire wrapping my earrings, I ended up adding some silvery blue akoyas and little white akoyas for length/fun and also hopefully to help my tahitians from getting lost in my dark hair/ skin.
Once I get ahold of some matching small GSSPs, I may switch the top ones out. Until then, I'm enjoying the kinda gradient look.

I wore them to a work meeting today, and felt extra lovely. Excuse the adult acne, I guess some of us,me, can't run away from it.
My husband noticed my earrings and necklace right away, and I appreciate the effort he makes in being slightly pearl aware .

Before After last night


Morning Shot- please excuse the mess on my board, I shortly organized and cleaned it up afterwards


After work meeting long and short lengths



I hope to meet y'all in a Ruckus! We're aspiring to Ruckus in 2018, if the invitation would be available then.

 

[pattye]

Bravo, Abi!! Nicely done! There's no stopping you now! Using the lighter pearls on the earrings as contrast was a terrific idea!

 

[Katbran]

Well done !! The beauty of wire wrapping is that it's so easy to add things in ... you don't have to re=knot the whole necklace.

 

[BWeaves]

I like the longer length, but I like being able to see my pearls when I look down. I like the lighter pearls on the earrings. It ties in with the ombre' look of having the golden pearls on the ends of the necklace, too.

 

[SunSeeker]

Wow, that was fast! It turned out great! Love the neck shot.

I wouldn't even consider tin-cup necklaces for years, because I hated the term "tin-cup." I thought the pearls were mounted in tin cups. Doh!
When I read that they were named after the movie Tin-Cup, and not after some weird construction technique, I was more open to them.
I think the original was spaced on silk thread and not wire wrapped. I remember a lot of floating pearls strung on clear thread way back when. I really prefer the look of the wire wrapped tin-cup necklaces, especially when the chain is a bit more substantial and adds to the design of the necklace.

you are too funny, BW!

 

[SunSeeker]

That was fast!! Excellent work, Abi! Your necklace and earrings look lovely on you! I love tin-cups in all variations! So many possibilities and a great summery look! ..well done!

 

[Sanippy]

Wow you did a great job! Aren't pearls addictive? Especially when you can make your own pieces.

 

[amti]

That's beautiful and versatile, Abi!!! Wear your new necklace with pride bc it is lovely! You did great on the earrings too!

 

[Ladonna Rama]

Love your work - looks fab! then again I'm a sucker for anything Tahitian thanks for sharing and congrats. ENJOY

 

[pearl-man]

Bumpers might work if the abrasion between them and the pearl do not scratch (tiny) the pearl. I would put inch of chain between each.
ONLY put thread through the pearls and tie off each piece. Station necklace. For practice go to a second hand store and pick out some
cheap chain and do it. Try different sizes. You can buy used chain, but nice for a few dollars, When you finally decide on the size and the
type of chain then determine the chain design and go ahead and get 14k or 18K. Good luck. Nice pearls and rubber bumpers will degrade the pearls. There are diamond rondells. If you enlarge the hole you wreck the value. As a dealer I won't buy pearls with a 2mm hole eventhough I can fix the hole and you can't tell. The note following, Pearl Dream can't be improved on.
Station necklace with a smooth chain will ensure the chain will not cut the thread.

Norm

 

[pearl-man]

YOUR REPLY IS ONE OF THE BEST I HAVE SEEN FOR THE CASUAL USE OF PEARLS AND STRINGING. Which my firm has done for 50 plus years.
Some of use don't have writing ability like you.

Norm

 

[kimberly48]

So...there are several considerations here.

1. With only enough pearls for a partial strand, if you group them all together, there won't be pearls going all the way to the clasp. Something will need to take up the space from the end of the row of pearls on either side to the clasp. You won't want a length of naked thread or beading wire, so what are you thinking of doing?
• Connect the pearls to a length of chain on each side, perhaps?
• Have a row of small stone (or other material) beads the rest of the way to the clasp?
• Drill a larger hole and string the pearls on leather cord, if you like that look.
• Or you could not enlarge the drill hole, string the pearls on thread or beading wire, and connect the thread to the leather cord on either end using special crimp ends made to be used with leather. Like these: https://www.riogrande.com/category/...-jewelry/end-bars-end-caps-and-separator-bars

2. Which stringing material to use for the pearls segment of the necklace.
• Beader's Secret would be good if you don't use gemstone beads as spacers. Stone bead holes have rough edges that could cut through your thread in time.
• Flexible coated beading wire (like Beadalon) is good if you really want to use gemstones as spacers, but then you need to use a different sort of crimp to connect the pearls segment to the chain or leather. While there are some crimp beads that look more attractive than others, I don't really like seeing them in front, personally. Although these might not be so bad: scrimps crimp beads
• If you decide to have stone/other beads on either end of the pearls up to to the clasp, beading wire could work and the crimps would be in the back where they would not be seen.

3. knots vs. bumpers vs. stone, metal or glass spacers
• Knots lend flexibility, won't scratch your pearls and will keep them from being lost if the thread should break someday. For knots you would need to use thread.
• Silicone bumpers work fine with either thread or beading wire. They come in black, gold, white. They may help pearls not to get lost if the thread breaks.
• Gemstones as spacers may scratch your pearls over time, but less likely if the fit is snug and the beads are small. But I wouldn't use stones with thread, as explained above. Beading wire won't break so there is no fear of losing the pearls.
• Gold/gold filled/silver rondelle spacers or round bead spacers are less scratchy on pearls, and could be used with Beaders Secret, but if the thread breaks, this sort of spacer won't protect the pearls from getting lost/scattering. Also, metal is still harder than nacre, and if it tarnishes may leave residue on the pearls. Not a problem with the dark pearls but maybe with the GSS.

All of that said, the risk of thread breakage is not high. I've never had thread break in use.
And beading wire may erode the drill holes' edges a little over time. I have not had this happen yet, though.

Make a sketch of what you would like the necklace to look like when done. It may help you figure out what to do with it.

Wonderful information you provided, thank you. I do have a question though that I don't believe was covered in your response. If you choose the Beaders Secret and knotting method, how do you determine what size or strength of thread to use? I have some freshwater pearls between 5-6mm in size from a temporary strand.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

You should be easily able to use the regular size Serafil or Beaders Secret. I don't think you'd need to go to the fine size thread size.

I've only needed to use the fine size when restringing my graduated akoya strands ranging from 3-7mm and 5-8mm, because of the size of the smallest pearls.

 

[BWeaves]

I always use a doubled strand of the regular size Beader's Secret and I've never had a problem. If I do have a problem, it's usually because the pearl has a funky hole, or the previous stringer used glue or got the knot stuck in the hole.

I like to use a double strand because then I can pull the two strands apart to snug the knot up next to the hole.