Gemstones between pearls - damaging?

[battah]

I'm looking into different options for spacers between pearls (small beads) - I currently use tiny argentium silver beads (2.5mm) or tiny pearls between larger pearls, but I'm thinking about gemstones as well. But would they damage the pearls? I assume that if I knotted between the pearls and the gemstones it would be fine, but if the gemstones have larger holes and slide over the knots to hide them like my silver beads do, I wonder if their rubbing against the pearls would be a problem.

I was thinking specifically about opal, moonstone, amethyst, and rose quartz. I'd appreciate any insight!

Thanks!

 

[pearlescence]

With any such design you answer the question by finding out the hardness of whatever material you are using as a spacer and if is is softer than pearls..no problem. Harder = problem
pearls are between 2.5 and 4.5 on the Moh's scale (http://www.gemselect.com/gem-info/gem-hardness-info.php)

 

[PearlMama]

Hello and congrats on your Etsy Shop! Two sales already - wow! You have a great selection of necklaces, but some of the pics look a bit dark on my screen. Other than that, good job and happy selling on Etsy!

 

[PearlMama]

You might also want to incorporate your shop name onto your banner picture. You can do it in Photoshop, but if you don't have access, try using GIMP. GIMP is free to download and use on your computer.

Hope this helps!

 

[pattye]

Wendy's suggestion of checking the Moh's scale is very helpful. Some gemstones will have smaller holes than your pearls and some will be larger.

My opinion only. If at all possible, knot between the gemstone and pearl to prevent them from grinding together when being worn or stored. Many gemstones, such as the quartz family and sapphire, are significantly harder than pearls. Some decent looking gemstones aren't finished nicely in terms of smoothly finished drill holes; I've made some poor purchases because I didn't know to check.

Adjusting the size of the thread can sometimes compensate for different sizes of drill holes; even with combining strands of pearls one can encounter varying hole sizes.

 

[battah]

Thanks for all of the wonderful advice from everyone!

Wendy, good call on checking the Moh's scale, I should have thought of that...

PearlMama, thanks! The photos have indeed been a struggle. I sat down with a coworker yesterday who used to be a pro photographer and he helped me figure out some of my picture issues, but I still need to replace some of the pictures in the shop. Thanks for looking! And I had no idea about GIMP, I'll check it out. I was wondering how to add the name to my banner. Thank you!

Pattye, that's an excellent point re: drill holes. I was hoping to pick up a few gemstone bead strands at Intergem next weekend, so I'll be sure to check the holes. Knotting between sounds safest.

I appreciate all of the advice, thank you all!