Help, got a wire stuck in a pearl.......

[LBoone]

While trying to make a piece of jewelry, a friend broke off a piece of wire in a pearl. The problem is that this is a natural river pearl and belonged to a client, so she can't just replace the pearl. It's pretty unique. The pearl is half drilled.

Anyone have any suggestions about getting that piece out? It is 14kt rose gold..... I'm not sure whether or not it was glued, I don't think so. It just won't come out.....

 

[pearlescence]

You could try making the pearl very cold - does anyone know if pearls are okay in the freezer. It might make the wire just that tiny bit smaller
or if all else fails then drill the wire out.

 

[Bodecia]

I will put a small natural pearl in the freezer to check if it is safe for you. No good using a cultured pearl for the test. Actually I have a couple of naturals with wire also stuck in them so might try them too. That is an excellent idea Wendy. I should have thought of that - duh.

Regarding the simmering of pearls for removing glue I have found it to be perfectly safe. Those who have found pearls when eating cooked oysters are right to think they are okay. Seafood is only cooked for the shortest time and pearls would be protected. There is no damage done. I left one small natural at a simmer for five minutes to check it out and have since done that with larger natural pearls to remove glue or at least soften the glue to allow removal from setting.

The last one I tried was a pearl in a ring. I also added some soap to the saucepan to clean it at the same time. It did not hurt it and did clean up nicely. That one I only left for 2 minutes at a simmer. I thought the prongs were loose enough to allow the pearl to come out but obviously not. I will get Barry to try and loosen the prongs (he has very hard, strong finger nails) before I try that one again..

Put some paper towels at the bottom of saucepan so there is no chance of the pearl touching the bottom and put the pearl in a little jewellery bag for easy removal and to make sure if tiny pearls or diamonds are on the jewellery they cannot get lost.

Dawn - Bodecia
http://www.ebay.com/sch/dawncee333/m.html
eBay Seller ID dawncee333 Natural pearl collector & seller. And all round pearl lover.

 

[Bodecia]

Hi, I put a well worn 5mm natural Gulf pearl in the freezer and forgot about it so it was in there for about 2 hours. It seems fine. I might pop it back in and leave it overnight to be absolutely sure.

So it looks like we are safe to put them in the freezer to help removing gold stuck in them. Let us know how you go and I will also report on my overnight freezing of a pearl.


Dawn - Bodecia
http://www.ebay.com/sch/dawncee333/m.html
eBay Seller ID dawncee333 Natural pearl collector & seller. And all round pearl lover.

 

[GemGeek]

Non nacreous pearls react differently to being "cooked" than nacreous pearls and every pearl can be different. Calcareous concretions do not have the same structure. Cooked non-nacreous pearls can lose surface shine and become granular - or - not be be visibly affected. It's a game of chance.

 

[Red]

I would think that freezing the pearls should be fine. I recently received some pearls from Pearl Paradise, and, it being a record cold December here, the outside temperatures were below zero. My pearls had definitely been frozen for some time, but they seem to be fine after warming up and all of the condensation evaporating off. In fact, if freezing pearls is a problem, pearl companies should cease shipping during the winter months to cold weather areas. I have to think that any problem with pearls and the cold would have been discovered by now.

 

[BeadersSecret]

If you have access to an ultrasonic cleaner (a good one not the cheap domestic ones) a couple of minutes should loosen it if there's any chance of it freeing up. Use a glass jar with clean water and suspend in the tank - this is what my father used to do to loosen stuck pins and screws in clocks & watches.

Otherwise just bite the bullet and drill it out with a quality tungsten drill bit, the 14kt wire shouldn't put up much of a fight - just be gentle on the pressure.

 

[pearlescence]

The point about shipping goes even further - no international shipping by airmail since the packages will be in the hold of the plane - below freezing

 

[Bodecia]

That is good info Bernadette and Wendy. I took the 2 pearls out of the freezer today. They spent about 14 hours frozen and were okay. No damage done.

I cannot speak for non nacreous pearls. Although I have some they are on a brooch and possibly one in a ring. Need to check the ring out as I do not know its identity. Might be a clam pearl, maybe.

Dawn - Bodecia
http://www.ebay.com/sch/dawncee333/m.html
eBay Seller ID dawncee333 Natural pearl collector & seller. And all round pearl lover.

 

[LBoone]

Thanks for all the input. I won't see them again until Jan. 7th or 14th. If they haven't gotten the wire out I will pass along this info. Apparently this pearl was wire wrapped with sterling wire, but a client wanted rose gold so they removed the silver and tried with the rose gold. Some how either the silver, or I was thinking it was a piece of the rose gold, got broken off in the pearl. I saw it, it is broken off below where you can get your pliers onto the metal to try to pull it out.

And like I said, this is a natural river pearl and can't be "duplicated." I didn't see how it was so special from the other natural pearls they had, but the client wanted THIS pearl. I'm sure you all can relate....