Where to restring in NYC?

[PearlSailor]

Hi new forum friends,
This is my first post. I thoroughly searched within the forum first, to see if I could find an answer before asking something that may have been already addressed. No luck.

I have a 20" strand of grey baroques that actually came apart as I tried to put it on. The string must have tired after so many years. Most of the strand is still on the string and I managed to rescue the fallen couple of pearls and the clasp. Does anyone know where in the NYC area (I live in Brooklyn, so that would be ideal) I can get a reliable job to have this strand restored to wearability? I'd like them not to be out of my hands for too long, but I don't know what the typical turnaround is.

A local jeweler I do business with for watch repairs and small purchases says he can have them restrung. Is that generally safe to give to a neighborhood retailer? I guess safe is defined, for me, as I get back the same pearls I sent (all of them!) and the job is done with good string material (I'm finding out that should be silk?), knotted between pearls, and the pearls arranged well (they are not graduated).

If no one knows of a place in the NYC outer boroughs or in Manhattan where I can bring them in person, any chance there is a particular place to mail them and not worry?

One last thing, I have no idea how much this kind of labor is worth. What kind of expense should I expect just so I don't get taken to the cleaners?

Thanks for any info. I find this forum fascinating and informative.
PearlSailor

 

[PearlSailor]

I guess it's anticlimactic to answer my own thread (117 views and no one had anything to suggest!), but I thought it might help someone else, since I did resolve this issue.

I brought the gray baroques (and also a 7 inch white pearl bracelet with a broken string and missing half the clasp) to the local jeweler I alluded to. I expressed my concerns there and found that he has a lady with beading skills come in to the shop and sit on the premises and do restringing as needed. MY prizes would not leave the shop. He counted the pearls in each repair job and put accurate descriptions of each on the redemption slip. So I have it in writing what we both know I gave to him and what I expect back. Good initiative toward honesty and quality service. He assured me the stringing material is only silk and each pearl would be knotted in place individually. Sounded very confident of the classic techniques being used. Both pieces were priced at $36 together, plus the cost of whatever clasp part would have to be added new, though the bigger clasp end (the "diamond shaped silver part) was in place.

I gave the jeweler a $20 deposit toward the work, though he did not require it. I should have my treasure back in a week. I can easily supply the name address and phone particulars of this jeweler in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn, if there is any interest. Contact me by PM or via this thread.

Hope this helps someone with a similar need in New York or especially Brooklyn. I thought the price was more than fair. I will report on how the job looks and the workmanship when the pearls are returned. I am left, for now, only with my new strand of pastel keshis until the others come back. Challenge to survive with just one set to wear....LOL

 

[LBoone]

I didn't reply 'cause I don't live anywhere NYC, but I'm glad you got your problem resolved! I recently had a strand of pearls start to come unstrung near the clasp. All of the sudden about an inch of thread just appeared between the clasp and the first pearl on that side. I don't think the silk stretched, I think something came undone. I am lucky to have a local jeweler that I trust without exception. They do a lot of custom work and have more than one person on staff that can string pearls. In fact, they do a lot of their own pieces, the first thing I ever bought from them was a strand of akoyas that they had strung there. I don't know how I would be able to part with my pearls if I didn't know these folks. If they ever close down (I don't know how much longer the owner is going to want to do this before she retires) I don't know what I'll do!!!!!

 

[lisa c]

Learn to knot pearls! I bet you'll be tempted to learn sooner or later, the desire seems to flow over everyone at one time or another here. It's very doable, if you can't find someone you trust.

 

[LBoone]

Learn to knot pearls! I bet you'll be tempted to learn sooner or later, the desire seems to flow over everyone at one time or another here. It's very doable, if you can't find someone you trust.

I'm in the midst of that now! I've been a "beader" for a while (and a knitter forever!) so I guess this is the next step. I have started by stringing some low quality freshwater pearls and beads on thin beading wire, and finishing them with toggle clasps. So far, what I have done has been well received. Now I am ready to move on to knotting, and then move up to better pearls!

 

[Marianne]

Way to go LBoone! A worthy addiction
Marianne

 

[pattye]

PearlSailor,

Great to hear you found a jeweler to handle your restringing projects properly, counting the pearls with you, giving you an accurate description, explaining the process. very reasonable cost also!

LBoone,

Hope we hear about your knotting projects soon!

 

[GemGeek]

That is CHEAP!

 

[007]

Great description of what to ask for if you need your pearls restrung. I would not have known to ask for the count and description. Thanks!

 

[PearlSailor]

Pearls back in my hands!

Pearls back in my hands!

I got my pearls back from where I left them to restring. I guess I'd have to say good news, not-so-good news. The good news was that the price quoted was quite accurate. The strand was $26 with a new clasp (the old clasp I supplied was damaged, it turned out), and the little bracelet needed some links tied into the end, extending it to make it fit comfortably with a lobster claw added (all sterling) so that was $16. Since the original quote was $36 and it wound up $42, I could hardly feel it was expensive. And as far as I could tell, I got back every pearl I had surrendered.

I'm not happy, however, about something I did not notice initially, but became unavoidable once I saw my own photos of the pieces and looked critically. The gray pearls, in some instances in the strand, were no longer gray or now unevenly gray. They look kind of discolored to a partial gray/partial yellow-y white. Is it possible these were originally dyed and the stringer attempted to clean them and color was removed somehow? (or that I never noticed these aberrations before?) They were even-colored, but darker, and lustrous in my memory of what I gave her, and now they are unevenly shaded, though not unacceptably unattractive. I must say, when worn or just looked at in the hand (not 3 inches from a camera lens in bright sunlight!), none of that odd discoloring is obvious to me, only in the close-up of the photos. I took a macro photo of a few of the grays mostly to show the knot work or detail between pearls, which seemed very even and meticulous. Hope that can be seen readily.

If any one has comments to reassure me or give perspective, please step up. I do say they look good overall and certainly give me a lot more opportunity to wear them and enjoy them (even with a bit less delight) than I had with the broken strand sitting in a pouch, abandoned for a year or more.

 

[pattye]

Have you asked the shop if they clean the pearls, and if so, what is used?

 

[GemGeek]

After cleaning, people often are surprised that the dirt made the strand more homogeneous. Suddenly, variations pop out on the clean pearls. Plus, there is a phenomenon that happens when you examine pearls, or any gems, very closely -- you start to see things you never noticed before, like flaws and discoloration. It happens to me all the time when I get out a strand that I thought was fabulous, but suddenly notice all the defects. But, after I relax and put it on, it looks terrific again. By the way, the freshly knotted pearls look great.

 

[PearlSailor]

Pattye, I haven't been back to that jeweler since I picked up the pearls on Thursday. It did not occur to me that they had cleaned them until I saw they looked different (if they actually are!). I don't get to that place much unless I need some repair work or a watch battery, etc., and I would find it awkward to make any approach now about how the pearls were handled since I took no notice while in the store at pickup time. There was no mention of any more service than restringing when I gave them in or at the time I paid and took them back. They are friendly enough merchants, and they pointed out the new clasps and the extra links on the bracelet, so I am sure they would have verbalized any cleaning work if it had taken place.
Though I consider myself pretty observant, I'm starting to doubt my sanity that these pearls were ever really as nice as I thought, or that they were actually cleaned at all. ... I'm glad you gave me some reason to believe this kind of double take can occur when you get a new look at old pearls and I can relax, GemGeek. (Whew. They sure look nice when I have them on my neck and I don't look close!)

 

[GemGeek]

It is standard practice to clean pearls with a gentle soapy water before re-stringing. When pearls are cut off the strand, you can see dirt collected around the drill holes that wasn't obvious when strung.

 

[Caitlin]

Hi Pearl Sailor
I don't know anyone in New york, either, but I am glad you came back afterward. $42.00 for all that work was cheap. The jeweler did every thing right. In fact, it is extremely hard to substitute pearls when restringing. Any jeweler or knotter won't have a huge supply of cheap pearls to use for replacements! Jewelers hardly ever have more than a few strands of pearls. A quick photo and description will help you feel more secure., but people across the country who need restringing can call local jewelers and interview them. Pick one that has a knotter come in. Sometimes you can can one knotted as you watch. It only takes a pro a few minutes- less than an hour for sure. You can also call local bead stores to get names of knotters.

Many people here learned how to knot with the books and threads in this forum. Henrietta Virchik usually comes in first for a learning to knot book.

 

[lisa c]

Yes, pearls are sometimes confusing. I have been disappointed with pearls because I like to inspect things closely, and sometimes a first-time close inspection under 'daylight' bulbs has shown many scratches and cloudiness, although the surface looks clean and smooth. I've thought "How can so-and-so have advertised these as very good?" Then, I set them aside, and as the day goes on I've seen the pearls under different lighting conditions, and they glow and sparkle, and the color changes, and I fall in love.

I'm still learning about pearls, so this is all I can offer.

The pearls you've photographed look beautiful to me. Did you post a 'before the cleaning and restringing' pic?
.

 

[PearlSailor]

The pearls you've photographed look beautiful to me. Did you post a 'before the cleaning and restringing' pic? .

I didn't think to photograph them while they were on a dirty string with a few gaps from the broken strand. No pics posted before restringjng and this thread was the first I put down on this forum. So even I can't remember how they looked two weeks ago when I gave them up for repair, which is why I keep wondering if they have actually changed or it's just the sudden access to "macro" view that got me overstimulated. I've now photographed all my pearls and saved the photo files so if any pieces have to go somewhere and come back, I will remember them accurately.

I agree, they don't look bad in the photos I've posted, but that's the benefit of selecting the best image. I enjoy photography and capturing pearls turned out to be a particularly interesting challenge to make their properties rendered with clarity.

When I wear this newly restored strand, I'm happy, and that's about all that counts. No one could really see the aberrations I mention unless they were to have the magnifier, true daylight, and a critical eye. At first I felt upset, but now I'm ready to move past my doubts and worries about what "happened" to them.

 

[pattye]

I love a story with a happy ending! That's what counts!

 

[GemGeek]

Let me say again (and agree with Caitlin) -- the re-stringing was cheap. Most professionals charge at least $1.50 to $2.00 an inch, plus a set-up charge. Cleaning the pealrs, cutting the pearls apart, and keeping them in order, while re-stringing is a lot of work.

 

[junebug]

I hadn't realised how much people charge for pearl stringing. Thanks for the information, GemGeek. Perhaps one day I may have the potential to quit my day job and turn pro

Just for practice, I have been doing complimentary stringings for friends and family. It's nice to be able to practice on a range of pearls without having to buy them myself. It's amazing how many people have pearls of all sorts hidden away in their closets. Hardly anyone I know has ever had their pearls re-strung before and seemed surprised and delighted by my offer.

One 'job' was a 100cm strand of small pearls. I lived in constant fear of the string breaking on me at 90cm but I was really lucky and managed to get it done in one go with no drama.

The hardest thing I've ever had to string to date was a three-row choker with spacers and 5mm pearls. It took me about three whole days. I was starting to regret ever taking up the job but even though it was complimentary I didn't want to disappoint the lady.

By the way, is one supposed to knot pearls on a design like that individually? The original hadn't been knotted and was on wire. I think I was a sucker for punishment on that one. I think I may have made things more difficult than necessary.

Not to scare anyone from the fun of stringing pearls but it was not long ago that I was often in tears after having had to start again for the fifth time on the same strand of pearls. A really basic straight strand too.

Like I've said many a time before, the Pearl-Guide has been THE place where it all started for me. I have Henrietta's book but I couldn't get it into my head until I found The Lowly Beaders Club. You can't ask a book questions and reading all of the lively stringing banter helped me every step of the way.

I'm not a knitter at all and have trouble tying up my own hair but for some reason, stringing pearls has been great fun and I highly recommend it for anyone who may like this sort of thing.

It's very satisfying to step back and see a strand of pearls finished.