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Ten-nyo, handamas, grays, and Grace Kelly

MakingTheGrade

MakingTheGrade

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Joined
Mar 2, 2009
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I got these gorgeous pearls from @yssie and had a lot of fun wearing and beading in different iterations! I like having options so I’ve decided on this “set” for now that lets me mix and match lengths and materials for bracelets and chokers.

I’ve always loved Grace Kelly’s single pearl choker look and now I get to recreate something like it with the prettiest pearls I ever did see.

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I made one strand with alternating tennyo and handamas. The tennyos are noticeably pinker and sharper in luster. I knotted with elastic cord cause it’s all I have on hand right now that fits haha. But hid the knots under the gold spacer beads. I’m hoping the 18k gold and round shape of the spaces will mean it won’t cause much damage to the pearls. But if it’s a no-no let me know cause I’m new to pearls and pearl care.
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I attached magnetic clasps to this so I can wear it as a bracelet which is probably how I’ll wear it much of the near future so I can ogle it.

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..but then also made these... so that I can wear them as a choker. I can also wear the gray as a bracelet as well. The short black velvet piece is in case I want the choker to sit higher and just for a bit of an edgier look hehe. Goes with my undercut better I think..

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I just love how you are always so creative with your fine jewelry pieces!
More of us need to think outside the box when it comes to playing with our jewels.
I adore the two tone necklace/bracelet switcheroo!
PS--love that Shale!:kiss2:
 
stracci2000 said:
I just love how you are always so creative with your fine jewelry pieces!
More of us need to think outside the box when it comes to playing with our jewels.
I adore the two tone necklace/bracelet switcheroo!
PS--love that Shale!:kiss2:
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Thanks!
Haha it feels weird mixing expensive pearls with 10$ magnet clasps and elastic craft cord but hey, if it works!
If I love to the look maybe I’ll try to upgrade materials in a few months to silk and gold ball clasps. I imagine 3 identical clasps will be able to interlock for mix and matching much like the magnets (the magnets are just less fussy haha)

I also love layering with it. I feel like it makes the pearls feel more modern.

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How talented and creative you are! These are gorgeous!
 
You’ve created amazing options! And how great to be able to build in flexibility and to have done it all yourself too.

The choker looks so cool against the velvet and your hair - really edgy, I love it! Actually, I love all your possible combinations.

Have you got a favourite?!

(Fab close-up showing the Hanadamas against the Ten-nyo by the way!)
 
Best arts and crafts ever!!
 
lissyflo said:
You’ve created amazing options! And how great to be able to build in flexibility and to have done it all yourself too.

The choker looks so cool against the velvet and your hair - really edgy, I love it! Actually, I love all your possible combinations.

Have you got a favourite?!

(Fab close-up showing the Hanadamas against the Ten-nyo by the way!)
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Thanks! I do love that with pearls I don’t need to take everything to a jeweler to test out an idea.

Haha I get a lot of comments on my hair since I work in academic medicine which is still fairly conservative, though is full of the sweetest people. Since covid I’ve had a lot of coworkers joke that they can tell it’s me even from far away with my mask on based on my hair! And even my patients joke that I’m the only doc they remember haha. I guess it’s harder to remember faces that are half covered and behind face shields.

So far my fav is just the bracelet cause it means I can stare it all I want. I imagine with time though I’ll wear it more with the grays as a lower sitting “choker” that is comfy.
 
Love the creations and you rock the look with the chokers! Those tennyos are spectacular. I can see the difference in the photos compared to the Hanadamas, so in real life, it must be a neat comparison! Pearls are a bit delicate and can get rings where the metal rubs against it. Check the edges of the metal to make sure they are not unfinished or they may cut your thread. I used gold beads on some pearls and loved the look, but over time, the thread broke from rubbing along the edge of a bead.
 
amti said:
Love the creations and you rock the look with the chokers! Those tennyos are spectacular. I can see the difference in the photos compared to the Hanadamas, so in real life, it must be a neat comparison! Pearls are a bit delicate and can get rings where the metal rubs against it. Check the edges of the metal to make sure they are not unfinished or they may cut your thread. I used gold beads on some pearls and loved the look, but over time, the thread broke from rubbing along the edge of a bead.
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Hmm. I wonder if the elastic thread is better or worse than silk when it comes to rubbing..
 
so creative & beautiful!
I love the choker look & of course shale in pearls!
What ever happened with your mop flower & silver diamond?
 
Polabowla said:
so creative & beautiful!
I love the choker look & of course shale in pearls!
What ever happened with your mop flower & silver diamond?
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They are off with my jeweler trying to get set finally! They’re running into some technical issues with the MoP but hopefully it’ll all work out!

I also ordered some white aaa freshwater pearls from wen pearls in the same 8.5mm size range to make a white pearl extender. And also to see how the aaa freshwater compare to these Akoyas!
 
MakingTheGrade said:
They are off with my jeweler trying to get set finally! They’re running into some technical issues with the MoP but hopefully it’ll all work out!

I also ordered some white aaa freshwater pearls from wen pearls in the same 8.5mm size range to make a white pearl extender. And also to see how the aaa freshwater compare to these Akoyas!
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I hope it works out! Looking forward to see both you & shale show it off !
Oh and I love the last necklace on him!
Sending shale a hug for being such a good model & not biting all the pretties!
 
I wish I have a slim neck and flat chest so that I could wear pearls in choker and opera lengths!

I personally would avoid using metal spaces with Akoyas, Tahitians and SSPs as I would worry about the metals scratching the surfaces of the pearls near the drill holes.

I am heavy with my hands, and would avoid using expensive pearls for bracelets.

I was very tempted to get these pearls to make into a tin cup style necklace, and decided against it as I have already made some with different kinds of pearls, and seldom wear anything around my neck nowadays.

DK :))
 
I love this @MakingTheGrade! I actually had another idea for you if you like - if you take strings of colored beads (like the spinel string you have in the thread, but I was thinking more along the lines of multiple strings of the same or different colors so that the thickness of the bunch of strings is wider than the pearl bit) and have the length of the bead strings be much longer than the pearl string, if you wear them together you can wear it asymmetrically with the entire length of pearl on display on one side of your body)! You just have to make sure the necklace is long enough that the entire length of pearl + 2 clasps is visible along the side of your body, with some additional length for the bead section to hang gracefully.

My mom has something like this - she has 2 strings of small red beads, 2 of Small green and 2 of small gold beads that become like a six string necklace which is clasped to a length of huge white pearls (I think there’s something like 12-15 pearls? Maybe more or less? I never paid attention) and the whole necklace is quite long. I think it’s around 32inches of which the pearl bit is 7-8inches. It’s gorgeous and I love it! Hers doesn’t come apart into 2 necklaces but to be able to do that just makes it even more versatile!
 
Ohhh. Grace Kelly. Most beautiful woman in the world. I’d happily plaster my bedroom with posters - college dorm style, fifteen years late :bigsmile:

You know I can’t wear anything on my neck. Jewellery, turtleneck sweaters, scarves. But your photos... Girl that short choker style looks SMASHING on you!! :love: Edgy yet classic. Impactful yet demure. Believe it or not - you wear it better than Shale :halo:

The alternating between your Ten-nyo and your Hanadama is SO not what I was expecting. I’m still surprised. I can totally calibrate my eyes to see the Hanadama as “white” and the Ten-nyo as “pink” or the Ten-nyo as “white” and the Hanadama as “green” - a subtle, secret, one-of-a-kind difference that most people wouldn’t see, and those who do see wouldn’t know how to describe, and those who could describe wouldn’t be able to replicate... I’m such a snot :lol:

I found this:
https://beadworld.com/blog/15-things-you-should-know-before-you-have-your-pearls-restrung/
Metal beads, especially precious metals (yes, that includes all Karat Gold) tend to leave black marks that encircle the hole of the pearls.

The surface of a pearl is much rougher than you would expect, even though it is on a microscopic level. Over time and with the movement while the necklace is worn, the pearls abrade the metal beads and the metal “stains” your pearls.
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The idea of pearls abrading adjacent metal is preposterous :rolleyes: but the inverse - @dk168 ‘s description of metal abrading, and potentially “staining” the pearls - sounds plausible to be. I guess for me... It’s the balancing act of enjoying them and keeping them pristine? I personally err toward enjoyment of pearls, I have this (admittedly unjustified!) conviction that pearls are super delicate so all of mine are going to degrade to dust within a hundred-ish years anyway, may as well use them :lol:
 
@AllAboardTheBlingTrain do you have a photo of that style? I’m struggling to imagine it...

@yssie haha white/pink vs white/green is going to be the bling pearl version of the black/blue vs white/gold dress now.

I’m in the same camp as you, I’d rather enjoy my pearls maximally while I have them than try to extend their pristine condition at the cost of not wearing them as much. I’m ok with a little staining and scratching as long as it won’t cause the pearl to crack or something lol
 
MakingTheGrade said:
@AllAboardTheBlingTrain do you have a photo of that style? I’m struggling to imagine it...

@yssie haha white/pink vs white/green is going to be the bling pearl version of the black/blue vs white/gold dress now.

I’m in the same camp as you, I’d rather enjoy my pearls maximally while I have them than try to extend their pristine condition at the cost of not wearing them as much. I’m ok with a little staining and scratching as long as it won’t cause the pearl to crack or something lol
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Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of my mom’s, but I found a pic on the internet that might work as a visual guide for proportions and it’ll be easier for me to explain what I mean.

so in the picture I attached, imagine the pearl strings here to be strings of beads in whatever color you like (my mom has red green and gold, but pretty much any color would work) and the polki/kundan section here to signify your pearl string:

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More googling has revealed variations of this style (not always involving pearls).

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Btw the examples I posted are quite indianised (except for the last one) because I couldn’t figure out how to explain it properly in English, but you can definitely adapt it to make it more westernised. Using blue/peach/yellow/silver stones is one way (traditionally indian jewelry used a lot of green, red and yellow gold). If you string the beads with a similar clasp as your pearls (but perhaps in a silver color metal as opposed to a gold color one, the clasps - which will be visible - would be half silver/half gold spheres which I think would look super cool!)

It’s quite a bold necklace but you strike me as someone who isn’t afraid of being a bit bold and edgy from your other posts (excited to see your gorgeous MOP and diamond necklace btw), and the nice thing if you get this as an “extender” for your pearls is that you basically get another necklace out of it (you can always just wear the bead section on its own!)
 
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This is the result of this CFWP that was made of solid nacre being rubbed against my keys etc. for 20 years or so.

I wire-wrapped this pearl myself, and the top knot of the eye pin was tight against the pearl.

That's what I was referring to, the metal spacer beads could rub against the surface of the pearl near the drill hole and reduces the thickness of the nacre.

763419

DK :))
 
dk168 said:
This is the result of this CFWP that was made of solid nacre being rubbed against my keys etc. for 20 years or so.

I wire-wrapped this pearl myself, and the top knot of the eye pin was tight against the pearl.

That's what I was referring to, the metal spacer beads could rub against the surface of the pearl near the drill hole and reduces the thickness of the nacre.

763419

DK :))
Click to expand...

Yikes!
Part of me is like: well I really looooove the look with gold spacers and 20 years would be a lot of enjoyed times with it

The other part of me: Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Noooooooooo. My preciousessssssss
 
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MakingTheGrade said:
Yikes!
Part of me is like: well I really looooove the look with gold spacers and 20 years would be a lot of enjoyed times with it

The other part of me: Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Noooooooooo. My preciousessssssss
Click to expand...


:lol: I’m so glad it’s not just me who gets conflicted like this about jewellery!
 
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