Restringing multi strand Keishi /Tahitian

[Jaye]

Hello Pearl Stringers,
I would like to shorten this multi strand to a dog collar.
Will it be expensive to get this 8-strand re-strung? And where does one search for a local pearl stringer?

Thank you all in advance.

 

[BWeaves]

Walk into any jewelry store and they will have a pearl stringer or someone they can send it to.

However, there are no knots in this necklace which would make it very easy to restring yourself. And you could make sure it fits you the way you like.

I would recommend Beader's Secret instead of silk as it won't stretch and is very strong and is easy to knot at the ends.

I have a dog collar I strung for myself, and I would recommend that the top strands are shorter than the bottom strands. And it won't be even. So for my 3 strand collar example, if the top strand was 50 pearls, then the middle strand was 52 pearls and the bottom strand was 56 pearls. This is because your neck curves out at the bottom.

 

[Jaye]

Thank you BWeaves for suggestion. I am not very good at restringing. I did give it a try on a bracelet.
There are many knots on this necklace, though. After 2 keshi there is a knot.
Do you have a guestimate and how much this may cost to have a professional do it?

 

[BWeaves]

It's been years since I've had a jewelry store restring my pearls, but 20 or 30 years ago it was $1 a pearl, or $1 a knot. Something like that. I learned to restring them myself. Check out the info on the Lowly Beaders forum here on Pearl Guide.

 

[battah]

I'm local and would be happy to help walk you through the process to do it yourself! If you really want to get someone to do it, I haven't used their stringing services myself, but I've had good experiences with Boone & Sons jewelers for repairing and resizing jewelry. And Treasure Trove jewelers downtown is good, I hear - I've only had them resize for me but they did a nice job, and they have a lot of pearls on display in their store so I assume they have a stringer.

 

[Jaye]

Oh you are so kind to offer Battah. I just called a jewelry shop in Bethesda, and he told me 5$/inch. That comes to about roughly630$!
It will take 3 weeks and they send it to CA to be done.
I'm leaving for Bkk in November, and I think I will have it done there. It's heavy, though.
Btw, i think i think I should confess to you- i bought a gold harvest strand also from PP.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Some bar spacers would be very helpful for a dog collar. They keep all the strands in place.

 

[Lugana]

Send it to PP to be restrung? I suspect your jeweller, when saying "will be sent to CA", means the same

 

[Katbran]

Getting it done in Bkk will be easy and quite inexpensive. There is also a company in NYC that advertises ( or they used to) restringing. But with that project I think you would need to be around to get the size checked as they go.

 

[BWeaves]

It would definitely help to be there while whoever restrings, does it, because dog collars have to fit right, as they are right up against the neck. It took my original jeweler several tries to get it right.

 

[battah]

Doing it in BK sounds good I'm sure! Personally I'd send it to Pearl Paradise if you're going to have to send it anyway. They're pretty great at lining up multi-strand necklaces to get them to lie right (that's something I find very challenging, personally).

Show us your harvest strand!!!

 

[JerseyPearl]

What a lovely necklace you have! I agree with Lugana that adding some stabilizing bars would be helpful to have the dog collar sit well on the neck. BWeaves, I believe your collar has them, correct? They can be quite simple or even ornate with gemstones. In my area, restringing goes for around $1-3 a knot. Knots will also add length if the strand in its current state is not knotted between each pearl. What length is the current strand? You may have enough pearls to make a coordinating bracelet.

 

[jshepherd]

Send it to PP to be restrung? I suspect your jeweller, when saying "will be sent to CA", means the same

It does seem strange that they send it all the way to California.

These are our restringing rates, and if you're in an area with a jewelry district, you can typically find people willing to knot strands. Prices vary widely though. There is someone who knots in our jewelry district for $12 a strand (without tools or needles too) and a company that charges $25 per strand.

I've often heard of jewelers charging per inch and sometimes per knot - there is a bead store a couple blocks from us where they charge $3 per knot. I called them last year thinking they could potentially be a back up when needed, but even at a 50% discount it's still nearly 10x.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Jeremy, that page states:
"This service is for stringing or restringing of pearls and rondelles purchased from Pearl Paradise.com only."

but the heading says: Stringing/Restringing of a Non PearlParadise.com Item

So...is that the price list for PP items or non-PP items?

 

[JerseyPearl]

I am very curious how one strings without using a needle! Without tools, I understand, but how on earth would you get a limp end of string through a pearl hole? I am assuming that they stiffen one end of the thread sufficiently with a resin of some sort...but would love to know more.

 

[BeadersSecret]

Hi Jaye, with this many strands as a dog collar/chocker, it would be better if you had someone local as this is tight to the neck, it's like a suit
which has to be fitted, (every neck is different) there is an extension at the back, and might just work but it is a complex restring and no room for error.

If I was doing this I would have at least one fitting before finishing off.

Would love to see the end result, as this is such a beautiful piece, and hope you find a quick and easy solution

 

[GemGeek]

Hi Jaye, with this many strands as a dog collar/chocker, it would be better if you had someone local as this is tight to the neck, it's like a suit
which has to be fitted, (every neck is different) there is an extension at the back, and might just work but it is a complex restring and no room for error.

If I was doing this I would have at least one fitting before finishing off.

Would love to see the end result, as this is such a beautiful piece, and hope you find a quick and easy solution

I was just about to suggest the same thing. You are changing to a different size and would have to measure to your neck and remove pearls. This kind of operation is going to cost extra because you aren't sending something that just needs to be restrung. The variability in how it will fit as it is created from what you have is huge. You need an expert to work with you and your neck in person if you want good results.

Bonus is that you should have lots of cool pearls left over for a project! I hope you enjoy the process.

 

[Jaye]

Thank you everbody for all the advice! I will be taking it to Bkk to have it done.
And as suggested, will make sure to have fittings.
I really appreciate everybody’s input. This is a wonderful forum!

 

[BWeaves]

What a lovely necklace you have! I agree with Lugana that adding some stabilizing bars would be helpful to have the dog collar sit well on the neck. BWeaves, I believe your collar has them, correct?
.

Yes and no. I have a cameo on one side and a pearl and diamond clasp at the other, and I can wear either one in front. So the cameo sort of acts like a spacer bar half way through the collar. I agree that two spacer bars, will help keep the collar from collapsing at the front. I'll have to take some photos and post.

Finally took some photos of my dog collar:



Closeups of each end of the clasp. The pearls start out lined up near the cameo and then get out of whack the closer they get to the clasp. Also, I added some smaller pearls near the cameo and the clasp the lengthen the necklace a bit, as I found it more comfortable when it sat just a little lower on my neck. Less chokey.





There's photos of me wearing it on the Ruckus thread and the Show me your pearls thread.

 

[amti]

JP, there is a wax that you can put on the tips of the threads to firm them up. It's been a while since I read about it so I don't recall the name, but it is commonly done in some countries.

Jaye, there's lots of great information here. I do agree that to get the necklace to fit correctly, you probably need to have a fitting before the final knots are tied. Being small keshi, I would make sure that you get a receipt stating the number of keshi and pearls on the strand so you can verify you are getting all of it back. Not too long ago, I did a project for a class and got estimates for local and online jewelers for pearl stringing. Each company had a different price and different ways of calculating their charges. Some charged extra for small pearls, so definitely call around if you feel you cannot string them yourself. It really isn't hard to string. So many of us felt intimidated by the thought but once we tried Beader's Secrete, we were blown away with how wonderfully it worked with us! I hope you give it a try! Knotting is addicting, so don't say I never warned you!