Acupuncturist

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

Try Something New: Make Your Own Pearl Necklace

Try Something New: Make Your Own Pearl Necklace

Crafters and people with beading experience can try something a little more adventurous make your own pearl necklace. Pearls can be less expensive than you think, and, thanks to culturing, come in a tremendous number of colors, shapes, and sizes.

Unlike other gemstones, creating jewelry with pearls is very much like working with any other type of bead, making it possible for the average crafter to make a real piece of fine jewelry. And because the cost of pearls can be relatively inexpensive, its possible to jump into the project without the nerve wracking fear of destroying an expensive gemstone. The process of creating a pearl in nature can be jumpstarted by a technique called culturing. The resulting pearl is made of the same material and formed in the same way as a naturally occurring pearl, but allows the creation of an abundant supply in the exact types we want, much like cultivating vegetables.

Cultured pearls can be found in nearly any color, and pearl farms can even create specific colors to match any swatch. The size of cultured pearls can also be controlled, making it easy to personally create a pearl necklace of unusual colors or sizes that would be nearly impossible to make from natural pearls alone.

Choosing Loose Pearls

It is relatively easy for anyone to purchase a wide variety of loose pearls. Two sites that sell loose cultured pearls direct to the public are pearlwear.com and orientalpearls.net. When purchasing bead pearls, price and quality should be balanced against the nature of the pearl necklace you will be making. High quality in a pearl is not all about aesthetics.

Cultured pearls are produced by introducing a foreign object, called the nucleus, into the shell of an oyster or other mollusk. The oyster then coats the nucleus with layers of a secretion called nacre. Less expensive pearls are those that have been grown faster. Fast growth is produced by reducing the layers of coating on the nucleus by using a nucleus closer to the final desired size, and the smaller number of layers results in a gem that is more vulnerable to discoloration and cracking. A thicker pearl, on the other hand, may last a lifetime if properly cared for.

If you are experienced and have your own jewelers tools, you can drill your own holes. For most people, the safest way to purchase pearls for a pearl necklace is to buy them pre-drilled. Pearls to be used for a pendant pearl necklace should be purchased half drilled.

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