Build Pearl Necklace Over Time For Daughter

[ladybelle]

I travel at least once a year and was thinking of building a pearl necklace for my daughter who is now 8. I was hoping to buy a loose pearl from every country I went. The ones I personally like the most are the mixed pearls of ivory, pink, golden, so I could buy different colors and perhaps do it as a tin cup in clusters.

Is this something feasible. How difficult is it to buy loose pearls?

 

[Gemzy]

what a lovely idea for your daughter, you could plan some exciting travelling ladybelle. Vanua Levu for Fiji pearls maybe and onto northern Australia for gorgeous South Seas, Sea of Cortez with a little whale watching on the side - wish I knew about pearls when I was travelling to these places - I would have quite a collection. Happy travel planning for the next decade!

 

[NacreLover]

Women used to buy build a pearl necklaces decades ago, but you don't see this much any longer. These pearls were all matched in color and size. This will be a much more expensive way to buy your pearl necklace and the pearl sizes, grade and color will be all over the place. Many places where pearls are sold are not even pearl growing areas, so you are buying pearls shipped in. You could do that at home. While this idea sounds kind of fun, the look at the end and huge cost may not be.

 

[akoya]

unless u buy something similar, otherwise will they look weird in a strand or in a set? i will think its better to buy a good strand, keep it well for her.
otherwise u can just buy a few to let them be made into pendant later on.
i think besides the standard China, Japan (but i think their freshwater r from china too), Australia, Hawaii (i think they have their own range too) that have their own pearl farms, others tend to be just imported goods as someone mentioned earlier.

 

[Fly Girl]

As I have gotten more into pearls during the past few years, I have grown to appreciate how immensely complicated it is to produce a nice looking piece of pearl jewelry. Your pearl necklace, if it is not matched at the time, will be a mismatch of sizes, shapes, luster and quality. It will be an interesting travel piece, but it will probably not look like fine jewelry. And, many times the pearls you purchase will not be locally grown.

We did somthing similar when our children were growing up, only we collected rocks from various vacation trips. When it came time for them to study geology, we already had on hand mica and gold ore from South Dakota, lava from Hawaii, obsidian from the Rocky Mountains, and agate from Lake Superior. This turned out to be a nice, as well as personal, collection.

 

[Gemzy]

the collecting journey would be fun, and you could create an amazing tin cup style - with shared memories in each pearl (do you travel with her?) - no need for perfection, time enough for your daughter to seek that when and if she gets the pearl bug. And a great way to focus travel plans, seeking out pearl farms, ethical suppliers and enthusiasts.