Good morning everyone! This is my first post to the forum, and I wanted to thank everyone first and foremost. I found a necklace belonging to my grandmother this past summer, a cute little faux pearl strand. It was in rough condition, so I started looking into jewelers to restring it. After searching for information about pearls, and making that classic first purchase with Pearl Paradise for a white freshwater strand.....I'm hooked. This forum sealed the deal as well. So much information! I've been reading up and absorbing for the past few months, I had no idea pearls were so...... amazing. The industry, history, making jewelry, all the beautiful varieties/colors of pearls! So yes, thank you to everyone who has contributed to this forum. I know it was a labor of love, and you all have the same passion for pearls and jewelry design.
So recently I've been stringing my own necklaces, thanks to the wonderful information in the Lowly Beaders' Club. I've finished a few freshwater strands, redone my PP strand with a new clasp, and just finished a tahitian strand (for the 3rd time, it's hard to get it JUST the way you want it, isn't it??). This month, I'm going to make a necklace for my lovely mother-in-law's birthday. I purchased 2 strands of cream rosebud pearls (~8-9 mm ) and a small strand of moonstone beads (~5 mm). I plan to string it on Beaders' Secret and knot in between, with three pearls for each moonstone. The total length should be between 38 and 40 in, as I want her to be able to wear it long or doubled without being too close to her neck.
So far its been really obvious what strength of thread I should use. All of my freshwater strands have been short or very light, so 30# has worked perfectly. My tahitian strand was only 8-10.5mm as well, so 20# was a bit much. I'm stringing a 11-14ish mm strand of ripple pearls for my mom, so I'm going to use 20# and enlarge the end pearl holes if needed. But for this strand, I'm kind of stumped. It doesn't feel excessively heavy, but the length and stones make it more than other strands I've done. I know for aesthetics, the smaller knots from 30# would probably look the best. But.....how to say it nicely? My mother-in-law is a lovely woman, but kind of a spaz. She seems to take good care of her clothes and jewelry, but I'd feel terrible if she broke the necklace at a social event. What do you all think? I hope I took good enough pictures, mad props to Jersey Pearl, BabyNurse, and everyone else who can make a pearl look like more than a shinny blur on camera. Thanks in advance for any input!
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