Seriously, get some BS from Pattye and watch the videos. It is really a lot easier to string than you think. And it gets easier the more you do it. THis is a perfect time to learn too!
You have a lovely collection. Stringing yourself is so rewarding, and then you can remake the pearls whenever you want to. Also not that difficult really.
What a lovely collection, CNM. I would also encourage you to order some of Pattye's Serafil thread (PatriciaSaabDesigns.etsy.com) along with needles and French Wire. (She offers a wonderful beginners kit) With a bit of practice you can acquire a very useful and rewarding skill.
Thanks all for your lovely comments. I will definitely repost when they are strung.
I am reluctant to string them myself as they were expensive. I could of course try my skills on a cheap strand but I think the costs slowly start mounting up in the end. Of course my view on that may change the longer social isolation measures remain in place...I am starting to get a bit restless ��
I would say that you can't really ruin anything by stringing a strand. At worst, the stringing doesn't look good, you cut it up and either try again or give up.
There's a starter kit from Pattey here: https://www.etsy.com/dk-en/listing/...knotting-starter?ref=shop_home_active_1&crt=1
If you need other colours, I'd just contact Pattey about it.
I restring my own expensive strands. Feels very liberating
You can't mess up stringing. You're just putting the pearls on thread and knotting in between. If you still want them professionally strung, there is no extra cost to cutting your stringing effort apart, since most stringers would be restringing existing strands anyway.
Definitely give it a try ! Given how slow the mail is at the moment you could order Beaders Secret from Melbourne - Bernadette a member here sells it on ETSY . She's got the needles etc and you can watch various videos to learn how to knot.