Key Takeaways
Restringing a cultured pearl necklace is a meticulous process. By following the steps detailed above, you can bring your jewelry back to life and wear it for a long time to come.
Preparing to Restring a Cultured Pearl Necklace
Choose a Thread
Whether it's silk or nylon, both will do. Threads come in a myriad of colors, but white is the classic. If your beads are colored, choose a thread that best matches them.
Whether it's silk or nylon, both will do. Source: freepik
Gather Your Pearls
Ready to beautify your cultured pearls? If you are restringing them, detach them from the old string. Line them up in the order you intended to restring them. Use a tray or stable surface so they don't roll at the four corners. If the pearls are graduated, arrange them from smallest to largest and vice versa.
Detach the beads, align them and place them on a stable surface before re-threading them. Source: freepik
Buy or Make a Beading Needle
A beading needle is like a miniature magic wand that goes through the holes in beads. They can be found at most craft and bead stores. You can also play craftsman by making your own with a 6-inch piece of beading wire.
A beading needle, essential for threading beads through, can be found in stores or made with 6-inch wire. Source: freepik
Rethread the needle
Cut a piece of wire that will be used to string your pearls. It should be at least three times the desired length of the cultured pearl necklace. Thread the wire through the eye of the needle. For beading wire needles, create your own eye by using a 4-inch piece of wire, threading it through the folded wire, and knotting it into a loop at the folded end of the needle. Insert your stringing wire through this loop.
Cut a thread three times longer than the necklace, pass it through the eye of the needle or create an eye with a 10 cm thread by forming a loop to insert your threading thread.
Source: freepik
How to Restring a Cultured Pearl Necklace
Step 1:
First and foremost, to restring a cultured pearl necklace, we inspect the condition of the strands to detect which ones are still in good shape and estimate the repairs needed. We also evaluate the type of clasp and the method of attachment.
Before restringing a cultured pearl necklace, it is essential to inspect the condition of the strands, estimate any necessary repairs, and evaluate the clasp and attachment method. Source: freepik
Some cultured pearl necklaces require a clasp replacement, as older models do not always allow for rethreading a needle. If the original clasp is still functional and we can weave around it, we keep it.
Step 2:
Next, we move on to disassembling the cultured pearl necklaces. Each knot is carefully cut. Typically, this represents about 80 to 90 pearls per necklace, and we clean each pearl. Most of the impurities and dust get stuck in the holes of the pearls, sometimes forming "plugs".
Then we disassemble the necklace by carefully cutting each knot, cleaning the 80 to 90 pearls, removing the impurities that have accumulated in the holes. Source: freepik
These obstructions sometimes make it difficult to clean the inside of the pearls by removing the old thread, especially on inherited necklaces. Once the untying and cleaning is complete, we proceed to re-thread the pearls and knot between each cultured pearl.
Step 3:
Finally, a cultured pearl necklace follows a precise order, which must be respected when restringing pearls. Sometimes, we must remove the pearls most damaged by time. Some necklaces use pearls of varying diameters, such as drop necklaces, ranging from the smallest to the largest.
When rethreading, respect the order of the beads and remove damaged ones, especially in falling necklaces with varying diameters. Source: freepik
This requires special attention when restringing pearls. Following the final plan, we knot each cultured pearl, making sure to minimize the space between them.
Bead Restringing, To Tie Them Or Not?
This is a good question, but perhaps the size of the beads plays a role here, especially if they are tiny. Generally, you always restring beads onto silk by knotting them together, except for very small beads (such as those used to create tassels with seed beads, or if knots would be too cumbersome with very small beads, rice beads, etc.).
Even with small beads, we knot at intervals of 2 to 4 beads, depending on the case. The beads drape better and the knots provide a protective cushion against abrasion. Generally speaking (although there are always exceptions), the absence of knots gives a less refined appearance and impairs the performance of the strung beads.
The size of the beads plays a role here. Source: freepik
The pearls are strung on a silk thread, and over time, this thread wears out. What was once a tight necklace begins to show a little looseness and distance between each pearl. By adding a knot between each pearl, you extend the life of the necklace.
Additionally, the pearls do not rub against each other, which causes friction that can weaken the integrity of the silk thread. With a knotted thread, you protect your pearls. If the thread breaks, you may lose only one pearl instead of a handful. To prevent the thread from breaking, it is advisable to have a pearl necklace re-threaded periodically, depending on how often you wear your pearls.