Pearl Stringing

[autumngems]

I need to find someone that does pearl stringing with a fairly reasonable price, does anyone know where I can get this done?

 

[jmtomaui]

Hi Autumngems. There are some jewelers who will still accept pearls to be restrung but they quite often send them out to be strung. I have heard jewelers charge by the inch. One estimate I saw was $5.00 an inch. Did you buy them from a jeweler that will do the work for you?

I don''t know where you live but if there are beadshops in your area, they will often offer to restring them for you for not much money - generally their time. Another option with the bead shops is to take a knotting class and learn how to do them yourself. This is what I did and I''m now rather addicted to pearls and creating necklaces for myself as well as family and friends.

You could also talk to some of the sellers that several of us have purchased from in the past such as Pearl Paradise, The Pearl Outlet, Pure Pearls are a few and see if you could send your strand to them for restringing. There is the challenge of mailing the pearls safely but you can be sure that they would treat you well - and honestly - if they are willing to take on the repair.

Regardless of where you take them, here are some tips to be sure you are taken care of.

1) Make sure that you and the stringer count the pearls together.

2) Know the approximate size - as close as you can - of the pearls.

3) Take multiple photos of your pearls before you take them anywhere to be worked on.

4) Make sure you understand how the pearls will be strung. Mikimotos and many strands out of the east will have only the first 4 pearls on each side of the clasp knotted and the remaining strand will not have any knots in them. The more "western" method will be to knot between every pearl on the strand. There are reasons for both but knotting every pearl does ensure that if the strand breaks in the future, you will knot lose individual pearls.

5) Not as big a deal but also ask what the pearls will be strung with. If they use silk, one of the strongest things you can use, you do need to be cautious to always lay the pearls flat to prevent the silk - and knots - from stretching and take care to not get the silk wet very often as this will also shorten the life of the silk.

This is probably more than you ever wanted to know when looking to have your pearls restrung.

Good luck with your search!