Stringing pearl necklaces

[PearlBirthstone]

Hello Everyone,

I have been wondering what is the norm for how a pearl necklace is strung? I have found myself wondering if I am just being picky about seeing a perfectly strung necklace and then seeing a few that have big knots in the strand in a few places on it... I have seen the Sea Magic and found nothing wrong with how it was strung and then more recently saw a AAA quality strand with a few large knots and a little unevenly strung throughout. Am I being too picky in wanting perfection in this area with nice Akoya pearls? Not sure if it is okay or not to have a few uneven knots in the strand. Still learning...

 

[jshepherd]

Depending on how the necklace is strung it is not atypical to have larger knots near the ends where the thread was doubled back through the strand.
Regarding the uneven knotting, when a strand is newly strung it is often strung tight, giving the appearance that the strand is a bit kinked (or uneven). One way to alleviate this is by laying the strand on a flat surface and gently rolling the strand back and forth (to loosen the knots). You also may want to run your fingers down the strand applying light pressure as the pearls pass through your fingers.
If you continue to wear the strand it should loosen up on its own in just a few days. Within a year (with consistent wear) gaps will start to appear (hence the initial tight knots), and the necklace will need to be restrung.