My first multicolor Tahitian pearls

Your strand is gorgeous! I also have a multicolor strand from Cees and I am awaiting a clasp to be delivered to string it. Will be my first stringing project too. Pretty nervous and excited at the same time. Tahitians are my favorite too.
 
IG = Instagram

Cees is Cees Van Oije /Amsterdam Pearls. His website just has photos of the kinds of pearl he carries/ has carried, but you can see some of his current/recent items on his Instagram page and contact him that way or through Facebook. Cees is a good seller. I got my golden SSP from him.
 
suchi said:
Your strand is gorgeous! I also have a multicolor strand from Cees and I am awaiting a clasp to be delivered to string it. Will be my first stringing project too. Pretty nervous and excited at the same time. Tahitians are my favorite too.
Click to expand...
What clasp did you buy? I'm debating orbit clasp from PP, just havent been able to commit. Good luck with yours, would love to see photos!
 
I got this one from an Etsy seller. Screenshot_20180713-160009.jpg
 
Clasps are so difficult ! I wish I could find one perfect clasp and then that would be the only one I'd use. I love the look of the Orbit but it's a little bugger to open and close...it's very slippery.. ..you need nimble little fingers lol I was showing a big white strand to a new client yesterday and it had an Orbit...she was not impressed. We found a different one.. I do love the look though..Toggles are always a safe choice as they are secure on anything with weight and easy to use.
 
Suchi, that is one cool clasp. I have fallen in love with out of the ordinary clasps lately.
 
Shoot, orbit clasp is hard to open? I love the look of it but I'm torn between that and your standard ball clasp. Either way I like the clasp to look streamlined. Would you say orbit is harder to open than ball clasp?
 
I think the Orbit clasp is very easy to open. That said, I have it in two sizes and 3 different metals. Depending on the "spring" of the clasp, I have one that is a bit harder to open than the others, and one that is super easy to open. I like that it is very secure, and that you can link other Orbit clasps together (and it doesn't matter if they are different sizes) and your linked necklace will look like it was designed that way. Plus I can hang drops off it easily.

I find the ball clasp to be too fiddly. I like the look, but I find the actual mechanism to be too small for my fingers to manipulate easily. I like the large fish hook clasps (like the Mikimoto clasp), but I can only ever find the tiny fish hook clasps, which I think look cheap. I also like a fancy box clasp with a safety catch.
 
I personally absolutely HATE the ball clasps. I find them so difficult to maneuver. I prefer a magnetic clasp. They are hard to find, but the few that PP and also Tahitianpearls.biz have placed for me are very strong. They are easy on and off. I never worry about them coming off because the magnet is so strong. I actually have a ball magnet clasp on my lemony GSSPs that I posted in another thread.

The orbit clasps are very versatile. I personally have not found them difficult to open. While they are not the most elegant, one can hang a pendant, as BWeaves stated, but you can add an extender very easily to change the length of the piece, depending on what you are wearing. I also have magnetic extenders with CZ's on them that look dressier.
 
The ball clasps are difficult for me to open and close. I love the orbit clasps and have no teouble wih them on either a necklace or bracelet. Just wish I could find them in vermeil or gold-filled.
 
There are so many clasps...there are manufacturers devoted to just producing clasps for jewelry and pearls. Like anything else, it greatly depends on budget. Some of our brilliant pearly peeps have done very well harvesting clasps off of flea market and thrift store finds.
 
2thdktr said:
I prefer a magnetic clasp. They are hard to find, but the few that PP and also Tahitianpearls.biz have placed for me are very strong. They are easy on and off. I never worry about them coming off because the magnet is so strong. I actually have a ball magnet clasp on my lemony GSSPs that I posted in another thread.
Click to expand...

The story of why I never wear jewelry with magnetic clasps is here.

https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?11689-Clasps-for-bracelet/page2

Magnetic clasps can come off precisely because they are so strong.
 
It may be that the one I have is very tight. My client couldn't open it and I find it hard as well. I do like the look of them and I have some in Sterling that are larger and have no problem. Might be that a larger size would be better.

I too hate ball clasps. I'd take the orbit over a ball clasp.

I too worry a bit about magnetic clasps and have wondered about the ones that slide/twist to the side instead of pulling straight apart. I assumed they did that to avoid the issue of the magnet becoming unglued.
 
I love the magnetic sterling silver flower clasp sold by Rio Grande (not costly, at $12.49. )
https://www.riogrande.com/product/sterling-silver-round-flower-magnetic-clasp/693627

It is very strong and is a nice size. (Overall length/dimensions : 17.4mm; width : 11.7mm.) It has no scratchy parts to make my neck itch! You release it by "folding" it in half. I used it to string gemstone bead necklaces on wire, and it's also nice for bracelets. I would happily use it with pearls, too. I wish it came in gold filled or yellow gold, but that wouldn't stop me from using it.

I like the small size silver/rhodium plated orbit clasps (a.k.a. oval push clasps). The little ones aren't stiff. I also bought a large size gold one, but I find it stiffer and harder to use.

The little metal trigger on a lobster claw and the toothed par of a fishhook sometimes itch on my neck. I used them in the past but am gradually switching out clasps when it comes time to restring. I don't mind ball clasps...usually. Some are more fiddly than others.
 
I has have some disco ball screw clasps with white gold and CZs, but I only use them on ropes where I never undo the clasps. I like that they look like a ball without the fishhook sticking out. I'm always afraid of stripping the screw, so I rarely undo these. I like to wear them in front or on the side, as opposed to the back of my neck, because they are sparkly. I do check regularly that they are still screwed together. Most stay tight, but I have one that likes to unscrew itself when I wear it.
 
Red - That is such a funny story ! I'd forgotten about that... I had a little fine bracelet on a tiny magnet and it stuck to the Grocery cart handle. So you do need to be careful lol

BWeaves - I had some of the Disco Ball clasps - they were great to link strands together. Like you I just did them up once and left them.

PD - I bought the larger one..that's the one that's stiff. There is an even larger size and I thought I might get one in the hopes that the size will make it easier to handle. I've not tried the smaller one..but you have given me hope lol

Bella Findings does have a somewhat fatter double oval clasp that is Vermeil . Not quite the same as orbit but worth a look
 
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I have quite a few of the standard larger orbit clasp (around 30mm length for both pieces together) and a couple pieces with the small ones on. All of mine work just fine, and are so easy to use. Some are from PP, some from Rio Grande. I passed on the ones from Bella, as they has a more pointed oval shape I didn't like as much. As we don't really know the manufacturer, I wonder if the stiff ones come from certain mfg. No way to tell. Luckily none of mine are, as my hands are terrible, and I can't work most of the other clasps at all. I do have a nice fat teardrop shaped lobster style clasp Celeste found for me for my Kamoka white pearls bracelet, and that one I can use ... yay. I wish someone would make orbits in other finishes, ie. tiny diamond or CZ pave or accents, brushed finishes (PP did get me one set of brushed yellow gold clasps), even etched or other surface treatment.
 
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