Bead-nucleated freshwater pearls from Kong's Pearl

[battah]

After seeing a few of you post pretty nice pearls from Kong's Pearl on Etsy, I wanted to try them myself. I picked 3 large baroque bead-nucleated freshwater pearls with nice luster. I wanted a nice organic look that would work on a ring, so I could stack a few together. In retrospect I should have varied the sizes or colors more, but I still like them together. I don't usually wear pearl rings because I tend to be very hard on rings, but I don't mind banging these around since they were pretty cheap.

Overall they're pretty. Each pearl had an ugly side, but that's where they drilled them of course. Two of them have manmade scratches on them but I assume that's why they were so heavily discounted. I'm very happy with them! If I ever develop a less active lifestyle I'll definitely invest in nicer Edisons for rings, but for me these are great.

 

[ericw]

Great nice pearls, Battah, a very good choice!

 

[lary007]

Fantastic style as usual, Battah! I love the more inexpensive bead-nuked pearls in rings - especially when they have luster like those!

I really like Kong's pearl (and Wen) as long as you are realistic about what you should expect! I got a BEAUTIFUL pink bead-nuked pearl from Kong a while ago that I still can't decide what to do with. I'm thinking a ring since I just got a pink Edison drop from PP's Black Friday sale. The luster on the pearl from Kong's is toe-to-toe with the one from PP - I was floored when I received it. So that is my hesitation in putting it a ring I guess. Maybe you in your design wisdom have a suggestion?

 

[JerseyPearl]

Oh my that ring is gorgeous.

 

[pattye]

Battah, fun and beautiful on you! Great luster!!

 

[Pareltje]

Fantastic ring, Battah. And wow, the luster is amazing.
I would like to ask you, friendly pearl people, if drilling can sometimes scratch the surface of a pearl?
Is there any way I can "fix" this scratch?

 

[battah]

Thanks so much, ericw, lary, JP, pattye, and Pareltje! I have my eyes peeled for other shapes and colors as well, so I can mix and match my stack (I set each pearl into a separate band so I can switch them up).

lary, pics pics pics! I went super simple and cheap with these settings, to be honest. They're the simplest sterling silver peg settings my gemstone supplier sells - I wanted a tiny setting so the pearls could take center stage. If you're afraid to put your pearl into a ring, maybe another pendant that you can layer? Or even get another pearl in the same size (different color) with similar luster and do a pair of mistmatched earrings? Those are so cool.

Pareltje, hmm I have no idea about scratching. I know JP drills her own, maybe she has some insight into the drilling process?

 

[Jenny]

Lovely ring. wow! they look so good and the luster is amazing. I'm waiting on my first order from Kong's - crossing my fingers.

 

[kalmen22]

Gorgeous Battah
Love the stackers!

 

[JerseyPearl]

Thanks so much, ericw, lary, JP, pattye, and Pareltje! I have my eyes peeled for other shapes and colors as well, so I can mix and match my stack (I set each pearl into a separate band so I can switch them up).

lary, pics pics pics! I went super simple and cheap with these settings, to be honest. They're the simplest sterling silver peg settings my gemstone supplier sells - I wanted a tiny setting so the pearls could take center stage. If you're afraid to put your pearl into a ring, maybe another pendant that you can layer? Or even get another pearl in the same size (different color) with similar luster and do a pair of mistmatched earrings? Those are so cool.

Pareltje, hmm I have no idea about scratching. I know JP drills her own, maybe she has some insight into the drilling process?

It's very easy to scratch pearls during drilling, especially if done improperly. While I know there are many who hand drill, that does take a certain amount of skill, practice, and guts. I use a machine specifically designed to drill pearls. That said, if you tighten the pearl too much in the vice, you can damage it. If you don't have proper clearances from the end of the bit to the pearl, you can scratch it when rotating. Those drill bits are very sharp! A pearl can also be scratched by dropping onto a hard surface (think: follow the bouncing ball) or by other gemstones that haven't been properly polished. I strongly recommend that if you are going to attempt to drill your own pearls, buy some very inexpensive pearls to practice on first. As they say, measure often, cut (or drill) once.

I should also add, you MUST wear appropriate protective/safety equipment when drilling (really that goes for any and all drilling). Safety goggles and a respirator mask are musts.

 

[lary007]

This is the bead nuked pearl from Kong's. It's currently undrilled. I like the idea of mismatched earrings and would really like some one day, but since this one is 15mm it would just be too heavy on my earlobes. I may still make this into a pendant like you suggested, battah.. I do love layers.

 

[Katbran]

Wendy said somewhere that she drilled a pearl so hard her bit skittered on the surface .. and that was a pearl drill !! never heard of that before.

I suppose if the bit isn't tight it might slip a bit when you start.. ?

 

[Pareltje]

JP, no I don't have a drill. I bought a few pearls from Etsy vendors one has scratches around its body which I thought the scratches must have come from the vise (and the pearl rotated while being drilled?). Another pearl has a deep circle mark near the drill hole, it looks like the circle was carved in the nacre. Maybe the drill bit wasn't in the center of the pearl and the pearl rotated while being drilled?

Lary007 stunning bead nuked pearl you got there

 

[pearlescence]

Pareltje, the small hole around the drill hole is possibly (only possibly) if the pearl was not drilled from both sides inward. But just from one side all the way through. Sometimes then you get this as the tip of the bit exits the pearl.
You can get all sorts of odd things happening when drilling pearls. I just had a batch of blue south sea pearls which may have been nucleated with diamond the nuclei are so hard. I watched as one bit actually bent and skidded along the nacre/nucleus interface rather than go into the nucleus.
Sometimes also the bit does not 'bite' properly on a supersmooth pearl surface and skids (this can also happen when you get a drop pearl with a sharp point - the bit just slides off unless you file a smooth flat surface for it to go at)
But all you can do when drilling goes wrong is bin the pearl.
Katbran, if the bit isn't tight in the chuck it won't spin properly.
Pearls are always thinking up new ways to surprise

 

[Pareltje]

Pearlescence, could that hard nucleaus be actually made of Tridacna gigas shell? What material could be that hard? Lab grown diamonds to make it more profitable? (real diamond is a lot more pricey)

 

[Floridapearl]

I've bought from them before and am very happy with my purchases so far.

 

[pearlescence]

Yes it could be, Pareltje. It was hard. And also, of course, curved, so instead of going straight, the tip bent and gouged a groove before breaking. I was being sarcastic about diamond though.
There was a spell when very hard nuclei were used in bead nucleated freshwaters but the howls of protest changed that fairly briskly - presumably not just from retailers who drill but also at the factories where they drill all day every day.
There's a huge variety of different quality nuclei out there. I hope to investigate selection decision making for this next march after the Hong Kong show.
Mikeyy will also know a lot about different nuclei and how farmers decide what to use....Hey Mikeyy...

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

Great pearls Battah. I have bought from them also after seeing this ring at the Ruckus this year.

 

[ericw]

Great lustre, Lilliefuzzysocks. I think that Kong sells special farmers productions, because the most part of items looks similar, unlike Wen (prices are not the same, too).

 

[JerseyPearl]

I have seen pearls with what appear to be scratches that are actually surface imperfections. They are kind of like a faint horizontal line that radiates from a pin prick. I've seen this on undrilled pearls.

Wendy, what kind of drill are you using? I did once have a drill bit break so now I only use carbon steel drill bits. But I do hear ya on how hard some of that nucleus material can be!