My first tahitian pearl (plus some rosebuds)

[enbcfsobe]

Had to go and pick up this parcel at lunch. I took a gamble on a large tahitian pearl and some rosebud pearls from an etsy seller. I am quite pleased with the tahitian (I'm pretty positive its a real tahitian...right?) I haven't measured it yet, but it was sold as being at least 15mm. It is shown inside my size 5.75 wedding set in some pics for scale. It has one blemish within the ring at the top, and some slight bumpiness on the bottom. Neither will be particularly visible once wire-wrapped as a pendant. I see lots of purple and green in person, and the luster seems quite good. I did my best to capture it in my terrible office lighting with only an iphone. The one thing that does bug me a bit is that it was clearly scratched (maybe during drilling??) -- you can see it in one of the photos. These will also not show much, but it is annoying. At least I won't feel bad putting it on a long chain where it might get bonked around a bit. Now I just need to make the chain (tiny stainless steel jump rings are on their way!!).





Please excuse rubber band holder!




Vendor pic:


The rosebuds, on the other hand, were disappointing. I don't think it was just the comparison to the tahitian, either. Several have spots of broken or missing nacre, and many don't seem to have nacre that fully covers the "thorns". The most lustrous ones don't have much of the desired bumpiness. Most are kindof dull. Good thing they cost me less than $5. I will look elsewhere for rosebuds for a beachy project I have in mind. If anyone knows where to get nicer white or ivory rosebuds in 9+mm sizes please let me know. Bonus if they have no flat sides!

 

[Tucs]

The Tahitian is beautiful! That colour!

 

[baby nurse]

Gorgeous Tahitian! It will make a wonderful pendant and your right, the scratch will mean you won't be bothered if it bumps around.

Really too bad about the rosebuds. I was going to suggest returning them but given they cost $5.00, it's pointless. I've purchased them from Lilias Treasures (etsy), Kojima Pearl and Catherine Cardellini, so you might check there for rosebuds.

 

[enbcfsobe]

Tucs & BN -- thanks so much! I'm flattered given that you both have amazing tahitians!

i'm happy that the color was quite similar to the photo -- most of the others in the lot it was listed with weren't particularly lustrous or clean-looking. i was worried there would be a huge wart on the other side, so the scratch is minor.

BN, I love your rosebud thread and took a look at the vendors you mentioned. Lilias' seems to be mostly inactive on etsy, sadly. Kojima and Pacific both have a few rosebuds, but they are more than I was hoping to spend (though obviously $5 isn't going to get me what I want!). Catherine has a few, and one of her pieces gave me an idea to possibly use some of the more button-shaped ones by putting the flat sides together so they look like gourds.

http://www.catherinecardellinipearls.com/?subject=moreInfo&id=122

I looked at the usual ebay sellers as well as on etsy, and very few have rosebuds. I did see some that were more button-shaped so maybe Catherine's approach would work for me. I hope I can find some -- I have all the other beads for this project already (that may not have been the best form of planning...)

 

[ckrickett]

I absolutely love the colors on that tahitian!

 

[BWeaves]

Very pretty Tahitian.

 

[GemGeek]

Oh my! A great pearl and look at that color!

 

[enbcfsobe]

ckrickett -- thanks so much! i was actually inspired by your lovely large edison pendant to look for a really large pearl to wear on a long chain.

BWeaves -- thank you for your kind words. i am in awe of your creativity with unusual pearls!

GemGeek -- thanks very much! i really appreciate all the amazing finds you share with us PGers each week!

I couldn't wait to wear the tahitian, so I did a quick wire wrap with a gunmetal plated headpin and put it on the longest silver chain I could find in my closet.



On a second viewing, the rosebuds really aren't bad. Maybe the light at home is just better. The plans I have are for a very casual strand with sea glass, crystal, and wood, so I think about 3/4 of them will work for that purpose. I also went back and checked my invoice -- they were actually $12 for 40 (the less than $5 was for a smaller increment). I will try stringing them and see what I come up with.

Thanks again for all the input and encouragement!

 

[BWeaves]

Wow, that pearl looks much bigger when you're wearing it. It looks great. Wear it in the best of health. I can't wait to see what you do with the rosebuds.

 

[enbcfsobe]

Thanks BWeaves! Some of what you see in that photo is shadow.

I'm hoping that I can get it re-wrapped soon with blackened sterling (the stainless was way too hard to work, but I like the understated darker color) and my stainless jump rings should be coming soon so I can start weaving a thin chain. I am thinking of doing two 17-18" segments that can be worn separately or as a bracelet or together with a dangly (like the tahitian or a tassel). We'll see how far I get with my tiny jump rings! For now I'm happy to wear this as is, and I love that I get to see it because of the longer chain.

I'm looking forward to working on my rosebud project, though the idea of wearing something beachy seems remote today in this windy cold weather we're having on the east coast!

 

[Sanippy]

Gorgeous Tahitian! I love that you make your own jewellery!

 

[Naan]

Congratulations! Beautiful lustrous and colorful pearl!

 

[newberry]

I really like your new Tahitian on the long chain. I wear many of my pearls that way. Then I can look down and see them

 

[enbcfsobe]

hanadama -- thanks! i enjoy doing crafty stuff, and i have rather champagne tastes on a beer budget as far as jewelry goes, so making jewelry is one way to fulfill two of my interests. delving into pearls has been great -- diamonds and colored stones are not only expensive, but much more challenging to DIY.

Naan -- thanks so much! is that a huge green tahitian in your avatar?

newberry -- thanks and happy belated b-day! i'm loving the long chain. that's one of the things i like about the long ropes too -- i get to enjoy the pearls as I am wearing them (though it potentially leads to figeting and distraction!)