Question about enhancers

[wild onion]

Hello everyone! I have been in the process of picking out a WSS drop pearl from PP, to be set as a pendant, but I wondered whether it would be smart to have it set on an enhancer bail instead. Then only thing is that I'm much more likely to wear it as a pendant (at least at this point), and I'm not sure how those settings lie against the body. If it's not much trouble, could I ask any of you with enhancers to post neck shots of how they look on a simple chain (as well as on a strand, if you wish!)? Also would love to hear how often you wear the piece as an enhancer vs. as a pendant. Thanks in advance!

 

[pattye]

Hi Wild Onion,

I love enhancers, with many in my personal collection. I will post some additional photos soon, but here is a couple of pics of an enhancer I just finished and mailed to my Granddaughter for her 12th birthday. It is silver, with a 1 pt diamond.

The strand of akoya pearls are only 5.5mm and 16 inches, a gift to me from her Grandpa about 40 years ago. (Clearly not great quality.) They didn't need restringing as I only wore them a few times.

A narrow enhancer bail will fit between pearls much better than a wide decorative one, and the opening can be smaller. Sorry, I didn't take a photo on a chain before mailing.

 

[Hanaleimom]

I am not at home right now but you can find one enhancer picture in my album. In general the very wide one will not look good if paired with gold chain. They sort of turn sideway, funny looking IMO. I have seen them posted in the pricescope forum. But everyone has different taste. If you plan to get enhancers for FW or Tahitians (as long as they are not > 11mm pearls) most medium size should be fine. The enhancer in my album with FW grape pendant comes in 2 sizes at riogrande.com. They both lay flat even when paired with gold chain but the smaller one looks better with chain.

 

[CathyKeshi]

This is a great thread, and the posters are SO helpful here; THANK YOU. I've been struggling with this very question in regard to a souffle pearl. Hanalelmom, if I may ask: I've seen that enhancer on Rio Grande ... am I understanding correctly that the enhancer is a loose piece you clip onto pearls, beads or a chain, and then hang any pendant from it? Thanks again, and oh, special thanks for the waterfall photo in your album

 

[CathyKeshi]

Pattye, that's a lucky grandaughter you have ... such a pretty necklace

 

[Hanaleimom]

This is a great thread, and the posters are SO helpful here; THANK YOU. I've been struggling with this very question in regard to a souffle pearl. Hanalelmom, if I may ask: I've seen that enhancer on Rio Grande ... am I understanding correctly that the enhancer is a loose piece you clip onto pearls, beads or a chain, and then hang any pendant from it? Thanks again, and oh, special thanks for the waterfall photo in your album

Yes it is interchangeable in the sense that you can hook any pendant ( with a small eye pin) onto the bottom. Because the enhancer has a wider width parallel to the neck it can lay flat. An enhancer that has a very large eye but with the eye 90 degree from the body (similar to wild onion's trumpet pendant with green pearl https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5319, post 20) will not lay flat.

The waterfall is an eight mile hike round trip, crossing streams and boulders, which took 8 hours. But it was worth it. I didn't have a panoramic iphone camera at the time.

 

[wild onion]

Pattye - Thank you for the advice on enhancer width (which makes perfect sense, but is something I hadn't thought of) and for including those photos. Lucky granddaughter indeed!

Hanaleimom - I love your enhancer! So elegant, and now I know how it works (I was looking at stuller/rio grande last night, and couldn't figure that one out). Somehow, all I can find this morning is this: http://www.riogrande.com/Product/14...e-Necklace-Enhancer-Pendant-Bail/644520?Pos=4
Is this the same as yours? I would like to make sure I get the smaller size. Would I just ask that the pearl be set with a standard eye pin, or does the loop need to be a little larger?

CathyKeshi - Please share pictures once you decide what you're going to do with your souffl? pearl!

Thank you all for your help!

 

[Hanaleimom]

Wild onion, that is the one. Small size can accommodate 8-9 ish mm pearl strands. I will check to see if it can go over larger pearls tomorrow. You can bend the bottom loop a little to insert the eye pin that holds the pearl if the tip is too close to the upper curvature. Bellafindings.com carries both sizes in white and yellow gold. No license needed to purchase. Same as rio grande.com. https://www.bellafindings.com/3912/c...-2627-14k.html

The one at PP with diamonds is not interchangeable but comes in 4 sizes http://www.pearlparadise.com/p-347-glimmer-diamond-enhancer-pendant-14k-gold.aspx . I think I have a med or large from PP. Will post dimension tomorrow.

 

[newberry]

Here are a few of my enhancers they are on a 2mm chain. Number 1, 2, 6, and last are not enhancer bales. 7,8, and 9 are the three sizes of Pearl Paradise enhancer bale. For big pearls I prefer the enhancer because it is easier to put on a bigger chain. My pet peeve is a huge pearl on a small thin chain. Sorry about the bad picture of the pearls.

 

[CathyKeshi]

And any thread that results in a viewing of THE STARFISH is a great thread Newberry, does that mean #s 1, 2, 6 and the last are enhancers, but not interchangeable with other pendants? Or does it mean those are regular pendant bails? Sorry for being confused; possibly the pearls made me dizzy LOL.

 

[JerseyPearl]

Those are some gorgeous pearls.

 

[wild onion]

Hanaleimom - I like the way the bottom loop on yours is bent closed a little more than on the riogrande picture, so I thought it must be malleable. And thanks for the tip about bellafindings.com. I had thought all of those sites required a resale license to even check the price.

Newberry - Thank you for that fantastic comparison shot! PP said their enhancer bail could be ordered in white gold, which is good to know. I wonder if the smallest size would lie nicely as a pendant (as it does in your photo) of if it would be prone to flopping sideways. I am now going to see if I can find close-up shots of some of those pearls of yours!

 

[GemGeek]

How fun it is to contemplate all these choices! I mostly use enhancers the way that Newberry does, but I do have a large SS drop pearl that I used to wear on a SS pearl necklace. The drop isn't the best quality, nor is the necklace, but the effect of the two together was amplified.

 

[pattye]

Great examples, Newberry, thank you so much! My experience is that the pearl enhancers (and pendants) hang the best on the heavier chains like the 2mm one in the photo. Small omegas, wheat chains, heavy snake chains~all have more "body" than a linked chain. We're dealing with some pretty large pearls these days!

Wild Onion, looking forward to seeing your finished pendant!

 

[newberry]

And any thread that results in a viewing of THE STARFISH is a great thread Newberry, does that mean #s 1, 2, 6 and the last are enhancers, but not interchangeable with other pendants? Or does it mean those are regular pendant bails? Sorry for being confused; possibly the pearls made me dizzy LOL.

They are regular pendant bales. Glad you like the starfish it is fun to wear.

 

[newberry]

Newberry - Thank you for that fantastic comparison shot! PP said their enhancer bail could be ordered in white gold, which is good to know. I wonder if the smallest size would lie nicely as a pendant (as it does in your photo) of if it would be prone to flopping sideways. I am now going to see if I can find close-up shots of some of those pearls of yours!

Reading left to right the 4th pearl from right is one of the small size enhancer bales. The back of the bale is flat and the front is rounded. I have not had a problem with it turning over.

Just to give you an idea of the size of the pearls..The first white metallic drop is 12mm wide by 15.3mm long. The cream white ss drop is over 19mm long. The small pink accent pearl is 8mm above the large souffle.

 

[Hanaleimom]

The following pictures include small yellow gold enhancer that Riogrande.com and bellafindings.com carry. The white gold one is the large size. Small eye pin will not fit the large size's tip of the loop (see pictures). Small enhancer can fit 9.71mm Tahitian pearls in picture. I don't wear this Tahitian strand with enhancer because it has the diamond rondelles and odd number of pearls. Small enhancer can fit 11.89mm WSS pearls due to baroque shape. If the pearls are elongated the small enhancer will fit. I tried the small enhancer over the baroque WSS pearls that are roundish and that didn't work. Pictures of enhancers on strand aren't straight due to the weight of the caliper. It's easier to incorporate the dimensions rather than noting them in text.

I have the large PP Glimmer enhancer (13 x 4mm) and it is fine on a chain without flopping sideway. I use the enhancers from Bella and Rio more often due to their interchangeability. Also it seems to give more presence to the pearls that are on small eye pins. Although I think enhancers give more flexibility I rarely pair pendant with strands. It depends on your style. IMO it is better if your strand has even number pearls to pair with enhancer. Otherwise pearl size must be very close (center pearl's size is the same as 2 neighboring pearls) in order to not distort the look.

Let the pictures do the talking.

 

[Hanaleimom]

Here are more pictures.

 

[CathyKeshi]

Cathy (Hanalelmom), that is VERY helpful, thanks for going to so much work to take those photos!

 

[CathyKeshi]

Does anyone know of someone carrying Rose Gold Enhancers, 14K or higher karat? Would be great if it was interchangeable, but that might be too much to hope for. I thought Rio Grand had, but have only been able to find plated or vermeil ... any suggestions or leads appreciated