My "Pearling" Story...

I finished the 14mm South Sea pearl enhancer. Here it is on a 14K White/Yellow Gold 2-Tone enhancer. I wear a LOT of blue, so I decided to feature it on a triple strand of 1mm tube cut lapis lazuli. I think it's a really nice combination that allows the gold pearl enhancer to "POP"! Being an enhancer, it will fit on several other Omega and smaller (less expensive) pearl necklaces I own (the ones I use with enhancers because they do tend to scratch the pearls just a little). I was able to "hide" the largest imperfections on either the backside or very close to the pearl cup at the top. One divot is showing, but for a 14mm (that was actually in my price range) I'm really happy with how this turned out.
14mm South Sea pearl enhancer
14mm South Sea pearl enhancer Full
 
MotherOfPearlTrumpet said:
Today I'm sharing a 3-pearl pendant I created out of "leftovers" that just couldn't be left in a box. I didn't want the pendant getting too long so I decided to try something new. Instead of connecting the pearls with dangle type findings, I used leftover 14K 3mm earring posts and cut the longer part to fit the next pearl. The little diamond pendant finding was the only thing I had to purchase. I can't wait to share the silvery Akoya strand that the top pearl came from, but I'm saving that for a later post. For today, a 3-Pearl Pendant, Silver Akoya, Aubergine Tahitian and Gray Tahitian. 8.4mm, 9.3mm and 10.4mm respectively. Simple and lovely.View attachment 464030
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Really nice!
 
Tahitian Treasure Found! As I've mentioned before, It is my passion to be the "Matchmaker" of pearls and settings. I just love looking for pearls and findgins that have been placed in settings that are inconsistent with their value/structure and then find suitable components to make create a more balanced "Marriage" between pearls and findings. This one was really fun. The pendant setting you've seen before; I found them out of Rhode Island from a person who obtained an old Jewelry Warehouse with a large inventory of 70-80's findings and sells them off a bit at a time. These findings are so pretty (and affordable-14KWG VS1 Diamond). They come with an 8mm lovely high-quality Tahitian pearl that I typically remove and use for earrings or a centerpiece on a smaller pearl necklace. In this case, I had my jeweler solder a heavy white gold post for earrings. I obtained these lovely round 11.8 and 11.9mm respectively undrilled Tahitian pearls on a sale from a jewel/pearl collector who was selling his collection. They don't match perfectly but are so pretty together, especially on opposite sides of the head. One has the MOST beautiful brownish green tone. The other has some of that same tone but is slightly more gray. The end result is quite striking.
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pearlescence said:
Get some glue dissolver (usually sold along with superglue or available on ebay and similar). Slosh the dissolver around the finding then put it into a small ziplock bag and wait. Take out every couple of days and very gently wriggle to see if it has come loose. If not top up the dissolver and back into the bag. I've known it take nearly two weeks sometimes. But eventually it will come loose.
Even the most seasoned pearl farm workers take joy in pearls. I recall the head of the operations at a south sea farm in Indonesia simply stopping and gazing at a pearl. (It was gorgeous btw)I enjoyed his reaction.
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It worked!!!I I just purchased some "BSI" (Bob Smith Industries) De-Bond and it totally did the trick!!! The pearl cups pulled right off after leaving them in a little zipper close bag with the product for about 1 hour. Now I can put some "more appropriate" findings on those two larger South Sea White pearls that had the cheaper bales. Thank you, thank you for the suggestions and giving me the bravery to give this a try. It should be a fantastic help on future projects as well! I so appreciate your recommendation @pearlescence.
(See UPDATE below...regarding possible damage to Freshwater pearls...)
 
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So I finished my 3-pearl enhancer. Just had to share it. Looks lovely on a smaller strand of Akoya 3mm's or on a gold omega. Would also work on a thick chain. I was pleased to find an enhancer finding that balanced the yellow gold/diamond rondels. The other great part about this enhancer is that the ring that holds the pearls is at the front of the enhancer instead of the middle or back. That way it allows the largest pearl to balance the pendant away from the skin instead of the enhancer folding inward then outward in a "V". Seems like a little thing, but it does make a difference in how the enhancer hangs. The rondels are 6mm and 7mm respectively to graduate with the graduating pearls. The top Tahitian is 9.7mm, Golden South Sea is 10.8mm and the White South Sea is 11.6mm. Have a great day everyone!
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Very pretty, MOPTrumpet! You use a lot of fancy findings. I appreciate the info about the De-Bond. I have been too afraid to try removing anything, but I’ll keep this in mind just in case I get brave and try to take something apart.
 
jeg said:
Very pretty, MOPTrumpet! You use a lot of fancy findings. I appreciate the info about the De-Bond. I have been too afraid to try removing anything, but I’ll keep this in mind just in case I get brave and try to take something apart.
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UPDATE: I did use the same de-bond on a FW pearl and after 1 hour there was a minor amount of blemish on the pearl's surface. So, I'm not sure if the South Sea nacre is just tougher than the FW. I'll try to post a picture of the FW after using the DeBond. It worked SO well on the South Sea...I guess I should do some experimenting on "throw away" pearls to see what it does on other FW's and Tahitians before trying to remove any more findings. The Boiling Water method has never damaged a pearl, but some glues just won't respond to the Boil Water method. Use DeBond with care!
 
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This strand and bracelet were a bit over my budget but they were just crying out to be reworked with better pearls to match these amazing 14K white gold diamond findings. I'm posting the original necklace and bracelet so you can see the small freshwater pearls, which are nice quality but not completely round and a bit small for these findings. Also the direction of the connection of pearl to findings is a bit "off" in my opinion. The updated strand using these findings will be posted soon!!!

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FW pearl necklace white background.png
 
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Please update us! BTW...I've never liked photos of white pearls over a black background...the pearls just "wash off"
 
MotherOfPearlTrumpet said:
This strand and bracelet were a bit over my budget but they were just crying out to be reworked with better pearls to match these amazing 14K white gold diamond findings. I'm posting the original necklace and bracelet so you can see the small freshwater pearls, which are nice quality but not completely round and a bit small for these findings. Also the direction of the connection of pearl to findings is a bit "off" in my opinion. The updated strand using these findings will be posted soon!!!

View attachment 464165View attachment 464166View attachment 464167
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Sorry, photos were from the website where I purchased them...I don't like photographing on black either. I've included another copy of the same strand on white and the luster of the freshwater's is a little easier to see.
 
MotherOfPearlTrumpet said:
It worked!!!I I just purchased some "BSI" (Bob Smith Industries) De-Bond and it totally did the trick!!! The pearl cups pulled right off after leaving them in a little zipper close bag with the product for about 1 hour. Now I can put some "more appropriate" findings on those two larger South Sea White pearls that had the cheaper bales. Thank you, thank you for the suggestions and giving me the bravery to give this a try. It should be a fantastic help on future projects as well! I so appreciate your recommendation @pearlescense.
(See UPDATE below...regarding possible damage to Freshwater pearls...)
Click to expand...
PearlescenCe!
 
MotherOfPearlTrumpet said:
UPDATE: I did use the same de-bond on a FW pearl and after 1 hour there was a minor amount of blemish on the pearl's surface. So, I'm not sure if the South Sea nacre is just tougher than the FW. I'll try to post a picture of the FW after using the DeBond. It worked SO well on the South Sea...I guess I should do some experimenting on "throw away" pearls to see what it does on other FW's and Tahitians before trying to remove any more findings. The Boiling Water method has never damaged a pearl, but some glues just won't respond to the Boil Water method. Use DeBond with care!
Click to expand...
Strange, I've never had a problem with any sort of pearl. And I've had pearls sit in the goop for days and even weeks when the finding was an exceptionally good fit so it couldn't seep in easily
 
MotherOfPearlTrumpet said:
Sorry, photos were from the website where I purchased them...I don't like photographing on black either. I've included another copy of the same strand on white and the luster of the freshwater's is a little easier to see.
Click to expand...
Anxious to see your results!
 
As promised, here is my rework of the strand from earlier. This is an 8-8.5mm strand of round silver-bluish Akoya pearls (mostly silver) and an 11.5mm incredible luster South Sea silvery-white pearl at the dangle point. The flowers have all been mounted in the same direction and since there were connection points both on the flower tips and on the inset parts, it made it easy to integrate them with these larger pearls. They nest nicely in the crevasse between two petals. The clasp is from an Etsy seller who does a lovely job with lobster diamond clasps. This strand could easily work for very formal events or dress-down for work or a simple dinner party, or even a Luau! I trust you'll agree that this is a much better use of these lovely findings. I'll find something fun to do with those pretty freshwater pearls that I now have sitting in a box.
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