Akoya redos

[Charlotta]

Some better photos of my vintage akoya and 4 green south sea pearl strand. The green south sea pearls are from Kongspearl.



With my blue akoya and greenish golden south sea rope. The blue akoyas are from Pearlescence.

With my grey tahitians and golden south sea strand. The tahitian pearls are from Cees.

With my rainbow strand from Pearlescence.


With my white south sea strand from Cees. It's hard to beat the luster on this south sea strand.


The added four south sea pearls makes the vintage akoya strand less formal. It's great for layering and can be attatched to most of my strands creating a rope.

 

[Charlotta]

I made another sampler strand to go with my rope. It's a single strand about 20 inches long. Some pearls are different but not many of them. Baroque white south sea pearls, instead of the white vintage akoyas, light golden circled pearls, the big ripples from Kongspearl, pale pink freshwaters from Pearlunar, metallic copper freshwaters from Pearlunar, peach freshwater keshis from Wen Pearls, circled white south sea pearls, white ripples from Pearlescence, white freshwater keshis from Wen Pearls, blue akoyas from Pearlescence, drop tahitians from Wen Pearls and circled grey tahitians.



I did take photos of the new sampler strand with the other one, but the photos turned out quite blurry so I retake them when I have better light.

 

[BWeaves]

I love them all.

 

[multichrome]

That is a big pearl party of a necklace. Love it!

 

[Charlotta]

Thank you Bweaves and multichrome.

 

[Charlotta]

Some better photos of my new sampler strand.

With the sampler rope.

 

[pattye]

Love the way you've arranged the types of pearls; they play together so beautifully!

 

[Charlotta]

Thank you Pattye, the sampler strand were so fun to make.

 

[Charlotta]

I have rearranged those green akoyas from Pearlescence yet again. Upon finding this photo, in my own phone, from August last year I really wanted the green pearls like that again, but with something else. I added some bigger baroque white south sea pearls as well as the smaller white south sea pearls. The green akoyas and the smaller white south sea pearls are from Pearlescence. I changes the layout some as well. Former strand.

New strand.




The akoyas are incredibly gorgeous. How can they be that pretty?




The strand is 34 inches long.

 

[Charlotta]

After remaking my circled baroque light golden south sea strand, the one I made into a rope with a double strand of vintage akoyas last summer and recently wanted back in original shape, I had a bunch of vintage akoyas in a pile. I also wasn't totally pleased with the greenish golden south sea rope I recently made with some ivory and pale peach pearls. So I made a new rope with the vintage akoyas and the greenish golden south sea pearls. Whilst arranging the pearls I suddenly wanted ro make the akoyas graduated, like wavestrand so I did. It took a while to sort them, because they were in a pile...I'm happy with the new rope.









With my new south sea ripples from Pearlescence.

 

[Charlotta]

I had to change my new shorter sampler strand, when I remade the light golden baroque south sea strand, since some of the pearls were in that strand.

Such pretty pearls.

I also made the strand a bit shorter, it was a bit long when worn.






I really like to watch the sampler strands, and remember when and where I bought the pearls and how my pearl collecting has changed over the years. I still remember how thrilled I was with my first akoyas. I had been wanting to have a pearl strand since I was a little girl, but noone in my family had any pearls at all. And the pearls in the jewelry stores in sweden were at the time hideously expensive. Recently I saw a strand in a jewelry store that they wanted about 600$ for...not very good obviously eggshaped freshwaters...probably could get one for 30$ elsewhere if I tried...just saying. Sweden don't get pearls in general. Anyway, before buying any pearls at all I collected vintage jewelry with semi-precious gemstones. I still have some colorful ones. One day when I was searching for silver and marcasite jewelry on ebay I stumbled upon a vintage akoya strand with an silver and marcasite clasp. I didn't buy that one, but I started searching for vintage akoyas right away. And bought some strands both on auctions and in antique shops. Then I taught myself to restring the pearls and then later found pearl guide. Then I didn't think that I would ever want any other pearls, I did believe that pearls ought to be white and round...then I found tahitians and nowadays I don't wear akoyas that much. Except for in my remade ropes that is. The newly remade golden south sea and vintage akoya wavestrand, made with one of my very first double akoya strands, turned out really well and looks very pretty together with the long green south sea and blue akoya rope I made some months ago.

Now I will use those akoyas again.

 

[Charlotta]

Maybe you remember the really colorful huge freshwater ripples I might have posted about a week or so ago. The ones that made me sort of seasick. These ones.


Well I remade those with some silvery blue akoyas from Pearlescence. They are better now, but something is still off. I don't know what.


I used ripples from the same strand in my sunset rope, but chose the more pink ones.


I don't know what's missing. I might try some really neutral ivory freshwaters. But I think that they would be to small.

 

[Charlotta]

I really like the green akoyas and white south strand i remade recently. I have worn it a lot with white south sea earrings lately. The minty aqua green akoyas are so lustrous and pretty and are perfect with the smaller round white south sea pearls as well as the bigger baroque white south sea pearls. The bigger baroque pearls made all the difference. Maybe you don't remember when I combined the green akoyas and the smaller white south sea pearls last summer, they lacked something and I then used the pearls for other strands. The bigger baroque white south sea pearls was the thing that made the strand interesting. I got the green akoyas and the smaller white south sea pearls from Pearlescence, the dropshaped white south sea strand is from Cees.

The south seas pearls in the huggies I originally got from Pearlsociety, but they have changed setting quite a bit, the silver huggies I got from Pearlescence together with the colorshifting edisons.



I don't think that I will remake that strand anymore.

 

[Charlotta]

Well those huge freshwater ripples that I paired with the silvery blue akoyas last week didn't last long... I just don't like those ripples. There are some ripples that I like, like my south sea ones. But not those huge freshwater ones. What I did do was combining the silver blue akoyas with some white baroque south sea pearl from my leftover bowl, some have bowls of fruit I have a bowl of pearls...


It looks like akoyas of any kind goes really well south sea pearls. At least I prefer them to the huge ripples...they are cooling down in a pile on a beading board before going back into the bowl...

 

[Charlotta]

As you know I do remake a lot of my strands, trying out different combinations to see if they work. Sometimes they don't. Yesterday I made a keshirope, with some keshis from Druzydesign and some baroque tahitians from Cees. Not akoyas I know, but it got me thinking about those akoya redos that I like so much that I probably woun't remake them. First one of my keshirope.

One of my favorite redos is this green akoyas and two sizes of white south sea pearls. I once made a rope with these green pearls and the smaller baroque white south sea pearls, but something was missing. These wierd looking bigger white south sea pearls made the rope interesting. Many of the white south sea pearls have a very flat bottom to them, I don't know exactly what to call the shape, circled baroque maybe. There is one smaller white south sea pearl that has a blue blob on it that I particularly like.

I have a weakness for wavestrands, and ombres. This one I made with a strand of 8mm deep golden south sea pearls from Cees and some gorgeous vintage akoyas that was a double strand, the one with the amethyst and small akoyas clasp. I have almost all of my pretty vintage clasp in a box right now as I have changed out most of my clasps. Anyway I used every single pearl of those strands and I love these two. One long waverope and one shorter wavestrand. They look gorgeous together and can be worn separatly.


I did miss having a good south sea strand though but since Cees found me another deep golden south sea strand all is well again.

I have made two more wavestrands. This one I am trilled with. I made this one out of a double strand of vintage akoyas, some were to damaged to salvage, and the most golden south sea pearls from the two strands of greenish south sea pearls K bought from Kongspearl.

I also have this miniwave strand that I made with a single strand of graduated vintage akoyas and four greenish golden south sea pearls from Kongspearl. I kept the graduation but rearranged the ends so I got a wave effect.

Then I have the really long strand of blue akoyas from Pearlescence and the most green and pale golden south sea pearls from the two strands from Kongspearl


Since I bought four strands of those pretty silvery blue akoyas from Pearlescence I have used them in other project as well. This is a recent one with added baroque circled white south sea pearls.

 

[Charlotta]

I changed that blue akoyas and white south sea strand a little bit recently. Not much, just added som smaller white tahitians in the middle of those four blue akoyas. I think that the added pearls makes the strand looks more interesting. The change makes it more similar to the green akoya and white south sea strand that I love. They are siblings though, not twins. Closeup on both of them, the green and white one is 34 inches and The blue and white is 29 inches.

The blue and white strand


Both strands.

The green and white strand.

Everything goes with that tassel.

 

[eolian pearls]

Wow Charlotta I am a big fan of your akoyas redos! I grew to love akoyas for their orient and all the blues and pinks and greens and my absolutely favorite combinations are with SS golds...You have created some amazing strands, that wavestrand is breathtaking! I love how creative you are with your pearls, you have an amazing collection to play with!

 

[Charlotta]

Thank you eolian pearls, I think akoyas looks best together with south sea pearls. Both white and gold ones. Purple akoyas would be lovely, I have seen one or two, not a whole strand. Maybe one day.

 

[multichrome]

These and your bracelets have made my morning, Charlotta. I love the tassel! I have findings to make a tassel—this should be my next project. Yours is so beautifully worked!

 

[BWeaves]

OOOO, I like these.