First stringing project

[lary007]

This has been a long time coming. I purchased two 17.5" circled Tahitian strands from WenPearls on Etsy about two years ago with the intention of combining the two into one longer strand. But life happened and it fell by the wayside.

Now I am back in the mood to do it but it's been so long since I've attempted to learn how to string at this point that I had to start from scratch. After looking through the stringing tutorial here and watching some videos on youtube I think I've finally gotten enough practice in on smaller strands to attempt this. I am still not sure I fully appreciate the dedication a strand like this will require but it'll be worth it in the end, I'm sure!

So I'll get to the goods here..the first picture is both strands separately of course. The smallest pearl and the largest pearl are also pictured.

 

[pattye]

Lary, cheering you on! LOVE ringed pearls, yours appear to have great stripey colors and overtones!

 

[lary007]

I also didn't take into account how difficult it is to sort through them for placement. It's a lot more involved than just going smallest to largest like I initially thought. Maybe it's just my insane particularity, but I also felt it necessary to make sure there was a good balance between "really ringed ones" and "kinda ringed ones" and "barely ringed ones".

Anyway, this is basically the first draft of the strand being combined into one. There are some pearls I'm definitely going to be moving around but I'm happy with it for the most part. It was much harder to sort on the beading board than it was seeing it all together as a full strand.

But man, some of the colors on this strand are just spectacular.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Wonderful! Yes, I also find the biggest task is sorting and arranging them. After that is done, the rest is straightforward.

 

[lary007]

So, next step is to order some beader's secret in Forest from Mrs. Pattye. I also need a clasp. I'm hoping to find something out of the ordinary that will look good in the front where it can be seen. If anybody has any suggestions please let me know!

I will keep ya'll updated, but in the meantime here's one more picture.

 

[Katbran]

Those are great ringed / circled pearls ! Fabulous colours !! They don't appear to be swimming in fish bites either !!!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

What metal are you looking for in a clasp? What price range?

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Instead of green, have you considered stringing them on a silvery grey? I think the grey brings out the colours more, while the green can look heavy on these more silvery Tahitians.

Here is my Tahitian bracelet strung on grey:

 

[battah]

Really nice work sorting and arranging them, lary! That can be so tedious (and easily disrupted, depending on the light - I've learned not to sort pearls in anything but natural light). Can't wait to see the final result! And as I've said before, you snagged some great strands, those are gorgeous pearls.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I agree with Lady Disdain about using gray thread for those pearls.

 

[lary007]

Instead of green, have you considered stringing them on a silvery grey? I think the grey brings out the colours more, while the green can look heavy on these more silvery Tahitians.

Here is my Tahitian bracelet strung on grey:
View attachment 60940

Funny you say that.. for some reason I thought the same thing while ordering the thread and also ordered Storm, too. If neither of those work I'm fine ordering more thread. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[lary007]

What metal are you looking for in a clasp? What price range?

I'm definitely thinking white gold. Really no price limit on it if it's the right clasp. I tried looking last night but I got distracted.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Here are 2 pages of one-strand 14K white gold clasps from Rio Grande; some are closeouts:

https://www.riogrande.com/search?q=...6c57-9588-49c6-820f-a7b901492a28&isSort=False

And all 14K clasps from Bella Findings:
https://www.bellafindings.com/11/c-14k-gold-clasps-and-clasp-parts.html

 

[lary007]

Thank you for that, PD!

I found a couple that I like but since I've not done this before I dont know what size clasp would be too big. If the pearls surrounding the clasp are right under 8mm will a 9.5 or 10mm ball clasp be too big?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

That depends. Your pearl are baroque-- are they a bit longer than wide? If so maybe a clasp that echoes that shape might be good-- something longer than it is wide.

 

[lary007]

Gotcha - good info.

I'm leaning more toward this one -
https://www.riogrande.com/product/14k-white-gold-x-pattern-safety-clasp/678063

Or possibly an orbit clasp. I'm undecided.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I like that X pattern. The grooves echo the rings of the pearls.

 

[pattye]

Yes, good clasp choice. That clasp will also be flatter than a ball style clasp, and likely easier to open and close.

 

[lary007]

Thank you both for your help! My husband says the X one too. That's the one I'm going with.

 

[Katbran]

I like that X clasp... very pretty !