My collection

[Alyend]

Hello,
my name is Alice. I registered on this forum in january, but this is my first post. Sorry if the pictures i'll show you are not very very good.
I have been loving pearls all my life, but I started collecting them since 2011, when I bough my first pearl necklace. Like many others, my starter necklace was an Akoya 7-7.5mm pearl necklace I bought from a local jeweller, with an 18k white gold clasp with two diamonds (one on each side). This is one of the few necklaces I've not made myself. Here it is:

View attachment 59271
The next is the other one I've not made myself. I's a mixed South Sea and Tahitian I've bought recently from "The Gipsy Pearl Co." on Etsy. The clasp is sterling silver. The pearls measure between 8.41 and 13.94 and the necklace is 48cm long.



The following necklaces, earrings and bracelets are all made by myself.
This is a parure made with 8mm pink freshwater pearls with rose silver clasps and earring hooks. The necklace is 76cm long, the bracelet is 20cm.




The next is a graduated (from 3mm to 7mm) Akoya pearl necklace. I added a small 18k gold clasp.


The next is a very long (90cm) necklace i made with 12mm white freshwater pearls. Thy don't have a high luster, but I liked them because they are so big!


This one is also with freshwater pearls, but smaller (10mm) and it's also shorter (42cm). i added a beautiful 18k white gold clasp I find at a local jeweller.


The next one is my favourite: a 45cm baroque Tahitian pearl necklace. I bought the pearls in may 2017 at an exposition in Florence, and I addes to them a sterling silver clasp.


I also made a pair of earrings with Tahitian pearls. The hooks are in 18k gold with (very small) real diamonds.

The last one is also the last I made. I bought three strands of 8-9mm blue-grey akoya pearls on Etsy (from Wen Pearl) and I used them to make a 52cm necklace with 18k white gold clasp. I'll use the rest of the pearls to make a two-strand bracelet.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

A wonderful first post, Alyend! Your pearls are beautiful! I particularly like the luster of the first 2 photos-- akoyas-- and the colors and shapes of your baroque Tahitian strand.

 

[Alyend]

Thank you Pearl Dreams!

Sorry for the pictures of Queen Victoria and the duchess of Kent, I think I made a mistake uploading the photos!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

You can remove the unwanted photos this way:
Click on Edit post, then Go Advanced.
Scroll down to Manage Attachments. Click on that.
In the box you will see, lined up along the bottom, all the photos in your post. Hover your cursor over the right upper corner of the photo you want to remove-- you will see a little X. Click on the X. It will ask you to confirm that you want to delete that asset-- click "yes". Repeat with the other photo.
Save changes.

 

[Alyend]

Thank you very much!

 

[jeg]

What a lovely collection Alyend- I’m glad you shared!

 

[Alyend]

I forgot to add pictures of two pairs of pearl and diamond earrings I've bought a few years ago. I'll add them as soon as I can.

 

[pattye]

Alyend,

A terrific pearl wardrobe, thank you very much for sharing! Your choice of clasps are beautifully complimentary to the pearls. So do you feel pearls are becoming more popular in Italy?

 

[Alyend]

Pattye,
thank you for your compliments. I hope pearls will become more popular in Italy, but for now they aren't so much. Unfortunately most italian women know and buy only akoya pearls or (if they want something less expensive) white freshwater pearls. Jewellers too rarely know the many kinds of pearls currently available on the market, they only know Akoyas, South Sea and Tahitian. They rarely know the various kinds of freshwater pearls, Sea of Cortez pearls, Fijians, etc.
When I started to search more informations about pearls, I found them only in web pages from America or from extra-european countries, never from Italy.
Recently I also took the Pearls-as-One course, and I enjoyed it very much (I've passed the final exam a few days ago).

 

[pattye]

Congratulations on completing the CPAA Pearl Course! Sounds like the lack of pearl knowledge extends to Italy also, so true about the jewelers in the US, too. It's wonderful that course is being translated into so many languages!

 

[Alyend]

Unfortunately the course is not available in italian. I've done it in english.

 

[Marianne]

Fluency in two languages is impressive! You have a lovely pearl collection.

 

[Alyend]

A (maybe) better picture of my two favourite necklaces:

I forgot to add the pictures of two strands I've note yet knotted. They are two Akoya strands I bought at an auction house in my town.
The first one has 5mm pearls

The second one has very tiny 2-3mm pearls

 

[Katbran]

Well done !! and Welcome !!! Great job on your necklaces !!

 

[SunSeeker]

Welcome to P-G, Alyend! Thank you for sharing your lovely pearl collection! I especially like the clasp on the pink freshwater strand. And congratulations on completing the CPAA course in English!

 

[amti]

Welcome! Very nice collection and you're quite the pearl stringer! I like the 18k white gold floral clasp on the shorter white freshwater strand and the rose silver flower clasp.

 

[Alyend]

Thank you all for your kind messages!

I've just found an idea for the two akoya strands (2mm and 5mm) I've not yet used: to combine them as an alternated necklace like this one from the dutch royal jewel collection (worn by Princess Irene in this picture):
http://www.ppe-agency.com/500px/Apr2014/PPE140405148.jpg

Do you think it could be a nice idea?

 

[pearlescence]

Or you could mix them randomly for a more casual look.
Like these

 

[Alyend]

That's a very good idea! Thank you!

 

[Alyend]

Hello!
I've finally stringed the 2mm and 5mm akoyas! Here they are:

I used all the 5mm pearls alternated with some (about half strand) of the 2mm akoyas. The necklace is now 70cm long, but for now I've added a simple sterling silver lobster clasp. I think I will change it with a nicer white gold clasp as sooner as I can.
Just today I made another nice addition to my collection: two strands of tahitian circle pearls. I've found them at Kong's Pearls on Etsy. It's my first purchase from them, and I'm very happy with it. They are obviously circled and have a lot of imperfections, but I liked very much the colours, and they sold them at a reasonable price. I think I will combine the two strands together to make a long necklace for everyday wear. I will add to them a nice 18k yellow gold clasp I already have. I'll show you some pictures: