Hunting for long FW drops

[purlgurl]

Ok, so here I am amongst all these specialists, maybe you can point me in the right direction. My customer would like to re-create the Ann Boleyn necklace from the movie.
Am I hunting for something that doesnt exist? 3 similar long drop pearls, white, can be slightly off perfect shape, I was hoping for FW to try to keep costs down. I would really like the pearls half drilled, rather than all the way through. The 'B' will be about 1" or just under 2.5cm high, so I guess the longest pearl could be about 10mm long.
I have looked through my usual suppliers, wondering if there might be a pair already made into earrings, which I could pull apart...
Any thoughts?
Purlgurl
AKA Carolyn

 

[Raisondetre]

The drops I see aren't usually that elongated. The ones from the picture look too regular and faux. My favorites are actually the true teardrop shapes as I love the pointy bit, but the bottom might be too "fat" to have three in a low and still look esthetically balanced with the "B". You can only look though. Never give up!

 

[purlgurl]

Aha! Yes, I thought the ones on the left were probably faux, because they had been drilled through, and were wired on with a headpin, and not even wrapped, just a loop. I think they are too big for their 'B', so I'm still hunting... Thanks Raisondetre.

 

[knotty panda]

Perhaps I'm missing something here, but don't you need to know the horizontal width of the letter (at its base) to determine what the MM diameter of the pearl should be first, then that will help you determine what length the drop should be? One pic shows clumped pearls and the other shows a clear separation between them. Which is preferrable?

 

[la_corsetiere]

I found something on ebay that might work from seller lilei1971 - a strand of white drop freshwater pearls. They're fully drilled and may not be long enough, but the size and luster look pretty good.

If you want half-drilled pearls, my suggestion would be that you do an ebay search for freshwater drop earrings, then take them apart for your dangles. Just watch out for all of the mother of pearl and shell pearl imitations.

Good luck!

Sheri

 

[Nora]

I found something on ebay that might work from seller lilei1971 - a strand of white drop freshwater pearls. They're fully drilled and may not be long enough, but the size and luster look pretty good.
Sheri

Those drops are of an exceptional quality, have fantastic luster and some of them are more than 13 mm.

 

[Raisondetre]

With Lilei1971 you have to know that she uses stock photos. While I have had some great deals from her, I have had to cull quite a lot. Her AAA is PG standard AA+, which isn't bad, but anything lower than AAA in her listings you have to be careful of. The larger the pearls, the lower the quality. I have tried to match pairs from her strands of drops, and have got 9 pairs from about 3 strands. I wouldn't say that it would be easy to find 3 of the approximate same shape and of the right dimension. If it's cheap enough, as her drops usually are, you can try getting 2 strands and see if you have 3 matching.

 

[Nora]

With Lilei1971 you have to know that she uses stock photos. While I have had some great deals from her, I have had to cull quite a lot. Her AAA is PG standard AA+, which isn't bad, but anything lower than AAA in her listings you have to be careful of. The larger the pearls, the lower the quality.

Absolutely so.

But some of those white drops are exceptionally good.

 

[Raisondetre]

I agree, she does have some with great luster and surface. It's really luck of the draw as to whether you will find 3 matching ones though. Some of them are ringed as well. But I think I've just been too pampered by PG and find fault with everything else.

 

[la_corsetiere]

The specific listing I located is described 2 str AAA 9*11mm luster white drop freshwater pearl. $10 plus $14 shipping. May be smaller and not as long as needed, but they look like nice uniform shape and size, good luster.

For some reason I can't find the ebay listing number - maybe I need another cup of coffee this morning.

I had one instance when the seller sent me the wrong item, but otherwise, I've always received the exact strands shown in the photo.

Sheri

 

[Heidi]

Ebay has been playing with their layout and the item # is difficult to find - Sheri's referenced listing is: #350180264407 I'm mostly certain, anyway.

 

[la_corsetiere]

OK, one last post, then I'll shut up. This is the historical costumer coming out in me. If you look at the actual Anne Bolyn paintings showing the necklace, the pearls look to be a pretty good size in proportion to the B, they don't look as elongated, and they look like they've been fully drilled, because they appear to have some sort of gold bead or finding at the bottom. Take a look...

Of course, if you really want them to look like the necklace worn in Ugly Betty, you should definitely get fake teardrops, since those "pearls" don't look remotely real.

I'll shut up now. At least for the next 10 minutes...

Sheri

 

[raj]

You might want to check out Pearlluna on ebay as well...for example, auction #150364076616

 

[Nora]

The specific listing I located is described 2 str AAA 9*11mm luster white drop freshwater pearl. $10 plus $14 shipping. May be smaller and not as long as needed, but they look like nice uniform shape and size, good luster.
Sheri

Some of the drops in those strands were 15.2 mm. and 14.9 mm. - smooth and shiny. But on the other hand, I just could be lucky......

 

[knotty panda]

I like the proportions of the original best.

 

[purlgurl]

This is another case of not what you all (& I) think looks best, or is the most authentic, but what my customer wants. She was inspired by the movie "The Other Boleyn Girl" so her original source is the movie posters. She wasnt aware of the Ugly Betty reference or the historical portraits like the one Sheri posted. Her own memory of the movie is hazy... she was sure there were coloured stone, and gold rondelle beads mixed in with the pearls in the necklace part, so this necklace & pendant will be 'derived from', or perhaps 'an hommage to'.... the costume designer's idea. Interesting how people's perceptions vary.

Many thanks to everyone for tracking down the ideal pearls, now I just have to get over my trepidation of sending money overseas, and wondering how long it will take my parcel to arrive. I am much happier to deal with suppliers who you have had good experiences with. I realise its only a few dollars for a single strand, but like most of us, I dont have any to waste.
Bernadette, I hope you have some spare time, when the pearls arrive...pretty please????

 

[Valeria101]

This is another case of not what you all (& I) think looks best, or is the most authentic, but what my customer wants ...

What else? However, your original question suggested the 'original' was of interest. If you had asked for three large and unusually skinny pearl drops from a trepidation-free US-based source, I would have said 'Betty Sue King' and be done with it.

Or THIS

Amusingly, the various portraits showing a number of versions of the necklace, do not pin down details , so.... your question: 'Am I hunting for something that doesn't exist?' turns out to be quite right taken literally. As far as I know, popular as this piece turned out to be, no reconstruction after period sources was ever attempted.

 

[Mitsucats]

I love that Anne Boleyn picture! I've always wanted to make that necklace myself. I am a big time Medieval history buff. I wish I had lived (rich) in the 14th or 15th centuries! oh well...anyhow, I'm searching for 2 big pear shaped pearl drops myself for a pair of earrings. Pearl lunar is ok, but I'd rather buy from an online vendor from this board if possible, I'd trust them more...

 

[pearlescence]

There are a couple of pearl sellers who post on here, why do you not contact them first?

cooee Nerida?

 

[lisa c]

Hi, y'all,
Is there some reason for not prefering fully-drilled? My daughter lost a very nice half-drilled drop from a dangle earring and I thought fully drilled replacements would prevent any more losses like that. It just HURTS when a nice pearl is lost.
The first time the pearl fell off, we glued it back on to the 14kt post&cap gizmo. The pearl came off again, and was lost for good.
I happened to buy some of those post&cap online, and discovered by inspecting/comparing closely, the old mounts had shorter posts than the new ones. I guess that's why the pearl fell off.
I figured for constant wear the full drill is safer. Is this a major faux pas with expensive pearls?
Thank you for any responses, you guys are great!
Lisa