Dangle earring jacket project -- advice needed

[enbcfsobe]

Hi I'm new to pearls so I could use some help. I recently bought diamond studs and find that I wear them most days. I'd like to have something to jazz them up once in a while, something that could be dressy but not too blingy. After looking around it seemed like pearl chain dangle earring jackets might be a good way to go. Something like this pair (from amazon) but white gold, shorter length and better pearls?



I'm realizing that I don't understand enough about pearls and what they look like and how they are measured to know how to pick. I was mostly browsing around on PP, as I bought studs from them previously as a gift. But this would be a custom project and I'm not sure what to do about length, proportion, pearl type, color. Hoping you guys can help!!

My studs are around 4.3 mm round brilliant, martini-set in white gold. Here they are on me.



I would like to keep the budget under $200, but might be able to push to $250 if needed for the right proportions. I'd like to go as big as I can without (a) busting through the budget and (b) looking silly in proportion to the diamonds. I don't want something super long -- probably 1" or less? I have long hair but wear it pulled back 90% of the time and I have a toddler. I am looking at drop shape and round, but its unclear how drop shapes are measured -- length? widest point? -- so I don't know how to mock them up to get a sense of proportion. Also, do I have them full drilled and have the chain go all the way thru or half drilled with a cap? As for color I think I want either something white or something dark (not peach or light purple).

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[ennui]

I can't answer all of your questions, but I have a couple of ideas.

Since these are earrings, get the best pearls you can afford. I'd recommend round or semi-round, or perhaps a drop shape. Pearls are measured perpendicular to the drill hole.

For length, I've always heard 1 1/2" will place the drop at your jawline, generally considered to be the best length. Consider that the pearl will add length, so if you want 1", get the chain at 3/4".

Another option is to get two pearl charms (a pearl set on an eye-pin). No chain, so the pearl will sit directly below your diamond.

The weight of the pearl will cause them to swing, if that bothers you.

Definitely half-drilled with a cap (I don't care for the pin showing on the bottom, even though I have earrings like that).

I'd start with white pearls, possibly white metallic, probably freshwater, and then later you can branch out to the exotics.

 

[pearlsngems]

The non-round shapes are measured perpendicular to the drill hole.

Ask PP about metallic white drops! These will keep the budget lower. I'd suggest half-drilling them with either a ring or a cap. (I'm guessing the ring might cost less.)

If you want to really get creative, it's really easy to make this sort of earring jacket.

All you need is:
• a bit of gold filled chain (you can buy it by the inch; rolo chain works great for this). Mine are about 1 inch long
• 2 small gold filled jump rings (3mm)
• 2 fully drilled pearls
• 2 24-gauge (fine) gold filled head pins.

Tools:
• 2 pairs of pliers (including one round nose)
• a wire cutter.
The pliers and wire cutter are an expense but I've seen basic sets at Michaels craft store-- and they often have 40% off coupons. It's worth it if you think you may want to do any more jewelry making someday.

1. Pass the head pin through the pearl and, using the round nose pliers, create a wrapped loop through the link at one end of the rolo chain. Or a simple loop -- but a wrapped loop is more secure. (YouTube has videos showing how to do this.)
Trim the excess with the wire cutter
2. Use 2 pliers to open the jump ring.
3. Use pliers to hold the opened jump ring and insert it through the other end of the chain. Use pliers to re-close the jump ring.

Easy!

 

[enbcfsobe]

Thanks so much ennui & pearlsngems!
Good to know that the measurements will be the "girth" rather than the height of a non-round pearl.
It is so hard to picture what the different lengths of chain-plus-pearl will look like. I really like the look of PP's metallic freshwater drops, and feel like that would give me a good impact for the price.
Pearlsngems, thanks for the detailed instructions -- I used to do a lot more jewelry crafting, so I actually have most of what I would need, except nice pearls (I have some inexpensive lumpy freshwater pearls from the bead store) and chain (which I can of course get from the bead store). I've wire wrapped pearls before and I am leery of doing it with more expensive ones, though maybe I can mock up a few just to play with the length/size proportions. I feel like no matter how good my wire skills get, it won't look as sleek as the pretty caps and rings that the pros use. (How do they attach those anyway? Is it epoxy like you'd use on a top-drilled briolette?) But it sure would save me a lot of dough!
Ennui, the idea of using an eye pin to have the pearl sit immediately below the diamond is intriguing, and would definitely give a different look. I may dig through my stash and see if I can rig up something like this to test it out.
Am I on the right track looking at PP for either the whole project or for loose pearls, or is there somewhere else I should be checking out?
Thanks again!!

 

[baby monster]

Here's a thread with lots of great info and photos on drops. [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pearl-drops.189716/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pearl-drops.189716/[/URL]

 

[pearlsngems]

I'm sure you could buy loose, half-drilled pearls from the major vendors.
The finding is glued in with 2-part epoxy. Not hard!

It also can't hurt to play a bit with base metal wire, improve your skills. Even if you don't choose to wire wrap this pair of earrings, you might want to do another earring jacket pair someday. Or make a tin cup necklace-- it's really easy with a bit of 26 gauge wire-- just make a wrapped loop on each side of the pearl, connecting with the length of chain between the pearls.
Wire wrapping just takes a little practice-- it's easy to learn.

To ensure that you make loops of equal size, all you need to do is make a mark on the round nose pliers with a permanent marker.
Or buy one of these looping pliers:

http://www.michaels.com/10121793.html#q=pliers&start=25

http://www.michaels.com/bead-landing-forming-pliers/10149660.html#q=pliers&start=27

Here is an earring jacket I made using the method I described; that's a little vermeil Bali spacer at the bottom, or you could use a Bali type head-pin or any other fancy head-pin to dress it up:

 

[Pirard]

Love that pearl dangle! Have you ever tried putting the jacket on the back side of the lobe? I'd wear it like that!

 

[pearlsngems]

I actually did try it that way but didn't like the look, plus it may tend to make the earring back come off.

 

[enbcfsobe]

Thanks again to everyone!!

baby monster -- that thread is super helpful to visualize the options!!

pearlsngems your diy drops are lovely! even if I have pearl drops professionally done I may try this with some other gemstone beads.

thanks also for the input about wearing them on the back -- I've wondered about this too and wanted to try it, but share the concerns about whether the back may slip off more easily.

I've been in contact with John at PP, who said that Hisano has come up with a chain drop finding that they may be offering soon. I think it is just what I'm looking for, though I still need to get a price on it. They will also shortly be releasing a non-chain drop with a very geometric style. It is beautiful, but not sure it's what I'm looking for.

I am leaning toward the metallic freshwater drops, just need to think about what size...

 

[baby monster]

A non chain drop? How interesting. I've been thinking about adding ssp drops with a pin to my pearl collection. Will see what PP comes up with.

Btw, I do wear my drops hooked on the back of the earlobes. I like the look and don't have issues with backs sliding off. Here's a pic.

 

[enbcfsobe]

This looks amazing! Can you tell me more about the size of the pearls & studs and the chain length you selected?

 

[baby monster]

Thanks. Studs are 1ctw, pearls 9mm off-round fwps, chain is 1" silver.

 

[ennui]

"They will also shortly be releasing a non-chain drop with a very geometric style. It is beautiful, but not sure it's what I'm looking for."

Did you see a photo? Is it on a bar?

The problem with some earring jackets is that they don't sit correctly on some ear lobes.

 

[Pirard]

My diamond studs have a screw on backing, so no worries about the backing coming off. That said, I do not have a pearl dangle and now I'm thinking I need one!

 

[enbcfsobe]

I did see a photo -- it is a bar with some geometric elements. Here it is -- they just debuted it via Facebook. It looks like it is curved to lay quite nicely on the ear. Its just a bit more structured than what I think I'd like, esp. with smaller studs. Right now they are being sold as a set but the finding will be available separately I think.

https://www.facebook.com/pearlparad...20057252005/10152712797392006/?type=1&theater

 

[enbcfsobe]

Thanks. Studs are 1ctw, pearls 9mm off-round fwps, chain is 1" silver.

Thanks this is so helpful! Do you find that the silver is a problem in terms of keeping it clean? I'm always freaked out about how to clean pearls set in silver lest I ruin the pearls. It would be much more economical, though!!

 

[Kay]

I have 2 pairs of chain dangle jackets PP made me to go with matching strands. My diamond studs are 5 mm.

8-8.5 mm Freshadama pearls (half drilled) with 7 links of WG chain attached to the cup:

(Sorry for the errant strands of hair.)

8.5-9 mm baroque blue Akoya pearls (fully drilled) on a longer WG chain:


I prefer to use half-drilled pearls for earrings, but the blue ones were taken from the strand I bought, as no matching loose pearls were available.

 

[ennui]

Thanks this is so helpful! Do you find that the silver is a problem in terms of keeping it clean? I'm always freaked out about how to clean pearls set in silver lest I ruin the pearls. It would be much more economical, though!!

A lot of the sterling silver in the modern marketplace is rhodium-plated to reduce tarnishing. The rhodium makes it look more like white gold. Also, there are lines of sterling that are plated with platinum.

I bought some plated sterling jump rings at Michael's, a local craft store.

 

[enbcfsobe]

Kay, thanks so much for your ear shots!! I think your first pair is just the length I am looking for!!

 

[baby monster]

Thanks. Studs are 1ctw, pearls 9mm off-round fwps, chain is 1" silver.

Thanks this is so helpful! Do you find that the silver is a problem in terms of keeping it clean? I'm always freaked out about how to clean pearls set in silver lest I ruin the pearls. It would be much more economical, though!!

I've had these for about a year and silver hasn't tarnished yet so no cleaning issues so far. I used silver and inexpensive pearls to keep the costs down as this was a fun/trial project for pearl jackets.

 

[enbcfsobe]

Thanks babymonster -- I think I am going to try the same if I can find 2 pearls in my bead stash that are relatively well matched.
I am still going to have PP price out a pair, I think with 9-10mm FW metallic drops and a short chain like Kay's first pic. Not sure if they can do a cup on the drop shaped pearls or not, so maybe just an eye.
This is trouble -- the more I look at pearls the more stuff I'm convinced I can't live without!

 

[enbcfsobe]

So I did get dangle earring jackets, but I took a route somewhere in between DIY and fancy gold PP ones. While I was in Morgantown WV for work I found this adorable shop called Silver Pennies -- it is super dangerous for jewelry junkies because it is a bead store and jewelry store and custom jewelry boutique all rolled into one. While the pearls I got are not super duper high end, I did get to individually choose them and match them up as pairs, and the amazingly kind and talented owner made the most delicate wire wraps I have ever seen to rig up the dangle jackets. I went with a delicate sterling chain and will just keep them in a sealed baggie in the jewelry box when not in use to avoid tarnish. We decided to leave the top of the chain raw on these (rather than adding another wrapped loop) so that it would fit snugly on the post. It was great to get to play with the length in the mirror to get it just right for me -- something I was concerned about buying them online. So here are the off-round white freshwater drops -- sorry the pics aren't great but I had trouble getting the phone to focus on both the stud and the dangle:

On my .6ctw BGD martini studs:


On my ancient pearl studs that I got at ross -- no idea what these really are or how big (maybe 5mm?):

 

[enbcfsobe]

And...since these were so affordable, I just couldn't resist getting another set. These are probably black dyed freshwaters and had a large hole really designed for leather or silk cord, but it made it easy to string the chain right thru in a kindof fun chandelier style. The pearls are baroque and have flattish backs, but once i turn those to the back side they seem to stay put. These do have the wire-wrapped loop at the top, which is easier to get on and off the studs but doesn't sit quite as nicely behind the earring even though it is super tiny.

On the diamond studs:


On the pearl studs:


Many thanks to everyone who gave input and photos!! These are definitely both in the rotation now.

ETA: Both sets of pearls are full drilled. For the white drops we used a super fine flat-headed pin (probably like 24 or 26 gauge) -- you can only see the head of the pin if you are standing almost on top of me, and even then only if you are shorter than I am. I'd still prefer the lovely finished look of the bead caps on the half-drilled examples but not for the price, at least until I get my pearl & length preferences a little more straightened out.

 

[ennui]

Thank you for reporting back! I have a pair of dangles that I'd like to convert, so this helps.

Have you tried putting the jackets on the back of your ear, instead of the front? I've been seeing that more lately, so it must be a trend.

Btw, I like knowing that someone besides me bought jewelry at Ross. Once upon a time, they had nice things, like 14K and 18K and Movado watches.

 

[enbcfsobe]

Thanks ennui -- the pearl studs actually have 14K YG posts and backs, they were decent for the money at the time (probably $20?) and tooth test says they are real. Ross did used to carry better jewelry. Now it seems difficult to find anything there that isn't base metal, at least in the store by me, to the point where I rarely bother.

I haven't worn them on the back of my ear -- I think the black pearls would look odd that way because of the style. Also that was the other drawback to leaving the end of the chain raw instead of doing a loop -- it is too tight a fit (at least for me) to get on the back of the post. I'm sure if I spend enough time with it I could, but in retrospect this would have been a good reason to do it the other way.

 

[Tucs]

They look very pretty on you!

 

[enbcfsobe]

Thanks! I feel like now I know what length I like for when I decide to upgrade

 

[Lovinggems]

They are lovely, I like the shorter dangle look a lot.

 

[seaurchin]

Love ALL the dangle jackets! Baby Monster, I can't wait to copycat how you wear yours on the back. That is just wonderful.

 

[Kay]

I really like what you ended up with -- it's nice to have variety to jazz up your diamond and pearl studs. I really like the style of the black pearl dangles -- I may have to copy that design, maybe with a pair of metallic FW pearls.