When did nylon thread come into use for pearls?

[MET]

Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone knows when nylon thread started getting used to knot pearls? I have a customer's 15" graduated strand (3.5mm - 7mm with a 14kw gold pearl-set fishhook clasp) that I'm working with and these are strung on nylon (melted with a Thread Zapper).

No way to tell if they're Mikimoto pearls (no mark on clasp, other than the gold content, and no mark on box), and I'm not informed enough to know if they're even Akoyas.

So, I guess my question is can anyone estimate how long these pearls could have been strung on the nylon thread?



Thanks for any input!
Mary Laur

 

[Pearl Dreams]

As to when nylon started being used....decades, but it is still used by some, so that does not date the strand.

Are you restringing? If you don't already have a thread you love to use, consider synthetic polyester thread (Serafil or Beaders Secret). It's strong, silky and very easy to work with. See links for sources in post # 2 of my stringing tutorial on the Lowly Beaders Club forum.

The bead tips used to finish the necklace are the inexpensive kind often used on imitation strands, but sometimes they are seen on cultured pearls, so that is not definitive. If you are restringing, consider using French wire, a.k.a. "gimp" or bullion to cover and protect the thread where it meets the clasp.

There is no reason to think they are Mikimoto brand specifically since it is not a Mikimoto clasp and there is no documentation.

To do the so-called tooth test, rub one pearl gently on another. Real nacre will feel slightly gritty, while imitation pearl coating slides smoothly. If you have a jeweler's loupe (10x magnifier), look at the surface of the pearls. Real nacre looks very smooth at 10x magnification while imitation pearls looks somewhat coarse.

 

[MET]

Thank you for your input. They are slightly gritty when I rub pearls together and they do look quite smooth under a 10x loupe. Is there anyway to tell if they're Akoya vs fw?

I appreciate your Beader's Secret thread suggestion, too. I'll look into that!

-- Mary

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Akoya.
The necklace appears to be an older one-- the graduated style was used more in necklaces made in the 1960s and earlier.

Also, the pearls are truly round, thanks to the bead nucleus that akoyas have. Typically the smaller freshwater pearls sold today are not bead nucleated and so are not 100% round, though some high quality ones may be almost round and look round to the eye when worn.

Also, the fancy gold clasp with a pearl on it is not something I personally have seen with FWP (but of course clasps can be swapped out when a strand is restrung.)

Pearl-Guide member Pattye has an Etsy shop in which she sells Serafil polyester thread, gimp, flexible wire needles etc. including a starter kit.
Link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PatriciaSaabDesigns

We have pearl stringing tutorials on the Lowly Beader's Club here, if using gimp is new to you.

 

[MET]

Thank you, Pearl Dreams. Great help!