Some favourites from my collection

[Icyjade]

Quite frankly, I string everything on softflex with bumper beads of some sort (seed pearls, silicone beads, 2mm labradorite beads, etc) for everything since I haven't figured out how to knot with Beader's Secret or Powerflex, yet. =P

Purranha, what's the wire size/thickness that you use? Are any tools required for such wiring work and any tips re: working with wires?

I've never had to redo any of my wire necklaces, and I've never had the wire break.

PD: I read about wires breaking and stretching over time and/or due to heavy usage... How long have you had your wire necklaces?

Icyjade ... wonderful thread, gorgeous pearl! The GSS leave me breathless

Thank you!

Icy your pearls are stunners and limiting your pictures to only the favorites is a shame. For me all your pearl choices are favorites

Seriously good point newberry!

Awww... You ladies are so sweet. Well I do have quite a few favourites so there will still be plenty of pics.

 

[Icyjade]

Agreed! Icyjade please post more!!!

You'd mentioned being a bit more in love with my tahitians so here's one of my fav. Unfortunately not getting much wear ever since baby came along but looking at the pics still makes me smile.

'Harvest' strand from Golay Singapore. 8-14 mm.
Bought during the Oct 2013 Singapore Jewellery & Gem Fair.

It was basically lust at first sight. But rather hard to see the colours under the convention centre lighting right? Confess that I'm always rather worried about buying tahitians at fairs cos I'm never sure if the colors are ok under daylight/normal lighting.


But anyway I loved it even more when I popped it under the light tent...


Some close ups...


I'm particularly fond of the circled pearl








After stringing with a simple push button clasp:








Neck shot when worn long:

 

[Pearl Dreams]

....PD: I read about wires breaking and stretching over time and/or due to heavy usage... How long have you had your wire necklaces?
...

I began using beading wire to string necklaces when my daughter was in grade 3 and now she's in college! I use Beadalon, SoftFlex and SoftTouch wire.

Mostly I use wire when stringing gemstones, but I have used it occasionally with pearls. My wire-strung necklaces all hang on hooks when not being worn, to avoid risking kinking the wire. With gravity pulling at them constantly, if they were going to stretch out, I would think they would have done so by now.

I wonder if the "stretching out" that has been mentioned (I don't remember who said it) wasn't actually stretching but just that as the beads settled, a small gap showed up near the clasp? This used to happen to me when I was new at using wire. How to avoid it: Before finishing the strand I lay it flat and gently stroke the beads in the direction of the end that I've already attached one clasp part to-- like petting them-- to help close up any tiny gaps that may be present. This is particularly helpful when beads have a slightly irregular surface, as faceted beads do. Then finish the strand.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

To delete any photos from a post:

Edit Post > Go Advanced > Manage Attachments.
In the box that pops up you will see, across the bottom of the box, all the photos that are in that post.
Locate the one you want to delete and hold your cursor over it.
An X will appear in the upper right corner of the photo. Click on the X. You will be asked if you are sure you want to delete it this asset. Then you can either click "cancel" to keep the photo, or "OK" to remove it.
Then click to "save changes".

 

[Icyjade]

I began using beading wire to string necklaces when my daughter was in grade 3 and now she's in college! I use Beadalon, SoftFlex and SoftTouch wire.

Thanks for the tip. Any particular wire/brand that you recommend/prefer of these 3 and any reason why?

To delete any photos from a post:

Edit Post > Go Advanced > Manage Attachments.
In the box that pops up you will see, across the bottom of the box, all the photos that are in that post.
Locate the one you want to delete and hold your cursor over it.
An X will appear in the upper right corner of the photo. Click on the X. You will be asked if you are sure you want to delete it this asset. Then you can either click "cancel" to keep the photo, or "OK" to remove it.
Then click to "save changes".

Ah. Got it and thanks! Managed to delete that pic.

 

[Tucs]

IcyJade, what a treat of a thread!

I have already commented on your newest beauties. That harvest strand is also out of this world! So beautiful, and worn long it looks fantastic on you.

Looking forward to more photos!

PS: How old is your son? You may find yourself able to wear your necklaces soon; as soon as my daughter turned two and a half I was able to reach certain compromises with her... including not touching mom's necklaces.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Icyjade, I have a box with an assortment of wire spools. I choose the specific wire for each project based on the color I want and the gauge necessary to fit through the hole. Wherever possible I use 49 ply for its flexibility.

I used 24K gold plated wire for these translucent tourmaline beads, as the gold reflects light and doesn't appear as a dark line in the bead.

And I used silver plated wire for these kyanite beads, and sterling silver Twisted Tornado crimps:

For lesser projects I've sometimes used the "Bright" color but I am not particularly fond of the dark color of the wire near the clasp. "Bright" is a misnomer. It would look fine with a darker metal clasp, though.

I've used some 0.013 inch gold plated wire but am all out of that at present; I think it was Beadalon brand.

For the most tiny holes I've used SoftTouch which is very flexible.

Any 19 ply wire is best used for short necklaces as it is noticeably stiffer.

 

[KaySD]

Icy_Jade, I love your new GSS and WSS strands! The color and overtones on the GSS strand are incredible. It's great to see old favorites too -- please post away. (I'm taking a PS break due to recent actions of deleting threads/posts, so it's nice to see the eye candy over here.)

 

[Purranha]

Wow Pearl Dreams that's impressive!

Lol Icyjade I'm much lazier with my projects. I pretty much use the SoftFlex Fine wire (0.014 diameter 21 strands) for 95% of my projects. The color of the wire is a bit darker grey than silver. I got 1 spool of 0.010 for projects with tiny drill holes (often times with 2.5-3mm rondelles). I've had projects for a decade and haven't had any stretching/breaking issues so far.

I use the 2-stage U-Shape crimping methods as I only just found out about the tornado twisty crimp beads and haven't had the chance to try them.

The slight gap (wire showing) near the clasp doesn't bother me at all since I have long hair. And I actually deliberately leave a tiny bit of room between the beads & clasp just so that the strand has some "coiling" room when I have to store the strands sometimes.

The youtube tutorial I attached earlier used a cover bead to cover the crimp beads but I don't even bother doing that lol.

My GOODNESS your harvest strand CAME TO LIFE under the light tent!!!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Thanks, Purranha.

A little gap at the clasp is not a problem; with some necklaces it helps them to hang more naturally and reduces stress between the beads. If the beads are brittle this could help prevent chipping over time.

 

[BWeaves]

Oh wow. Gorgeous Tahitians.

 

[Katbran]

I did have a wire break just once. I had strung a strand of Tahitians with a large focal bead .. so I used wire to test out the design and let my sister in law have to to 'test out' ... then I forgot about it...14 months later she sent a note to say it 'broke' . When I looked it over the tornado crimp had cut the wire. ( fortunately I had used those tiny little black silicon bead stoppers between each pearl..so they didn't explode all over the restaurant when it broke! )

Those crimps can be quite sharp and maybe I squished it too much at the ends ? But overall...wire is fine...though I find it pulls the hair on the back of my neck. Annoying.

Two weeks ago I was talking to two women from a Wholesaler in Sydney ..they do loose pearls and also inexpensive bead and pearl necklaces etc When I looked at the Spinel / Freshwater rope I noticed they had used thread. They said they almost never use wire and use silk thread on all the bead and pearl pieces ...insisted that the beads don't cut the thread.... hmmmmmmmm .... not sure about that...

 

[Icyjade]

IcyJade, what a treat of a thread!

I have already commented on your newest beauties. That harvest strand is also out of this world! So beautiful, and worn long it looks fantastic on you.

Looking forward to more photos!

PS: How old is your son? You may find yourself able to wear your necklaces soon; as soon as my daughter turned two and a half I was able to reach certain compromises with her... including not touching mom's necklaces.

Thank you! I truly love this strand.

My son is now 16+ months and I'm expecting my daughter early next year... So I guess not for another 2++ years at least?

Icyjade, I have a box with an assortment of wire spools. I choose the specific wire for each project based on the color I want and the gauge necessary to fit through the hole. Wherever possible I use 49 ply for its flexibility...

Thanks for your detailed explanations. Guess I should invest in a few spools if I ever get into wiring my own strands...

Icy_Jade, I love your new GSS and WSS strands! The color and overtones on the GSS strand are incredible. It's great to see old favorites too -- please post away. (I'm taking a PS break due to recent actions of deleting threads/posts, so it's nice to see the eye candy over here.)

Hi! I know what you mean. That episode was such a turnoff that I felt like taking a PS break too. But then my new stuff are mostly in one thread there and I find it hard to abandon that thread.

...Lol Icyjade I'm much lazier with my projects. I pretty much use the SoftFlex Fine wire (0.014 diameter 21 strands) for 95% of my projects. The color of the wire is a bit darker grey than silver. I got 1 spool of 0.010 for projects with tiny drill holes (often times with 2.5-3mm rondelles). I've had projects for a decade and haven't had any stretching/breaking issues so far...

Ah thanks for the details. Filing this away for future reference.

Oh wow. Gorgeous Tahitians.

Thank you.

I did have a wire break just once. I had strung a strand of Tahitians with a large focal bead .. so I used wire to test out the design and let my sister in law have to to 'test out' ... then I forgot about it...14 months later she sent a note to say it 'broke' . When I looked it over the tornado crimp had cut the wire. ( fortunately I had used those tiny little black silicon bead stoppers between each pearl..so they didn't explode all over the restaurant when it broke! )

Ah, I was going to ask what happens when a wire breaks and it's good to know that the bumpers help to prevent the pearls from tumbling away.


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For those who have been using wire instead of threads, does long term use of wire damage the pearls? I'm guessing that since the wire are nylon coated, if you use the right sized wire and also bumpers there shouldn't be damage?

 

[CathyKeshi]

Icyjade, please just keep posting photos here ... your thread will get nice and long . I don't think I saw your Golay Harvest rope before ... it's incredible ...love the mix of colors and oh, those shapes ... especially the fat round circled drops !!!

 

[BAS]

Icy -- Keep the pictures coming!!! I'm dying for the next installment!

 

[GemGeek]

Oh yeah, that Golay rope is worthy of total jealousy! I wish you could wear it more, but little hands are not to be trusted with longer necklaces.

 

[Katbran]

That Golay rope is a dream piece for me ... pearls are so clean and colourful !

And about those little bumpers..they come in clear and black ... teeny weenie little things...they actually look like tiny knots to me.

 

[amti]

Love your special pieces and can't wait to see more! The harvest strand looks amazing under the lights and really comes to life when you wear it.

 

[JerseyPearl]

Icy, that harvest strand is amazing! Those are some of the most colorful Tahitians I've seen! And I love it doubled...very fun look!

 

[Naan]

What a beautiful colors green-pink overton's!