{"id":1612,"date":"2018-10-13T08:03:09","date_gmt":"2018-10-13T12:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/?p=1612"},"modified":"2023-07-01T11:12:16","modified_gmt":"2023-07-01T15:12:16","slug":"make-a-great-add-a-pearl-necklace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/make-a-great-add-a-pearl-necklace\/","title":{"rendered":"MAKE A GREAT ADD-A-PEARL NECKLACE"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Great<\/div>\n

An add-a-pearl necklace<\/a> is basically a starter pearl necklace<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nIt begins with just a couple of pearls (see picture, top necklace) and you keep adding pearls to it over the years until it gets totally full <\/strong>and looks like a normal pearl necklace (see picture, bottom necklace).<\/p>\n

\n“When I grow up, I wanna be a pearl necklace!”<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nIt makes a great gift for a young woman or teen<\/strong>. Most add-a-pearl necklaces lead off with either 3 or 5 pearls<\/strong> (an odd number<\/strong> so it looks balanced).<\/p>\n

\nPeople love them for a really good reason: They know what to buy for that next special occasion.<\/p>\n

How many pearls do you add at a time?<\/h2>\n

\nA full strand of pearls can usually hold about 30-40 pearls, <\/strong>depending on the mm size of the pearls you select and the length of the chain desired. And as far as the length goes, I advise 18″<\/strong>. That’s a perfect size for a pearl strand; It’s not a choker, and it’ll rest on her neck nicely and be seen.<\/p>\n

Add-a-pearl necklaces cost?<\/h2>\n

\nHere’s the cool thing about add-a-pearl necklaces;<\/strong> Buying a couple of pearls every year is much cheaper<\/strong> than forking out $3,000 for a nice strand. It makes it affordable to buy one over the course of 10-20 years.<\/p>\n

\nBut here’s the really interesting thing that people don’t realize: Most add-a-pearl necklaces are never worn…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nOdd eh? Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why not wear them?<\/h2>\n

\nBecause it’s not full. It’s partially filled, meaning, it may look silly wearing a thin chain with just 3 pearls on it.<\/p>\n

\nGet it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nSo the necklace you’re making ends up sitting in the box until it’s finally finished.<\/p>\n

But what’s even crazier…<\/h2>\n

\nPeople buy new pearls every year… and still keep adding them to the necklace.<\/p>\n

\nYes… Every new pearls added get strung on the chain (at a cost to you, no doubt).<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nAnd jewelers usually charge around $2.00 an inch<\/strong>. But they may also have a $20.00 minimum stringing fee too. So the price goes up fast, doesn’t it?<\/p>\n

\nThis is what I always advise:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Will she wear the necklace now?<\/h2>\n

\nIf the answer is “NO<\/strong>“, then don’t spend the money on getting it restrung every time pearls are bought. It’s silly! Wait a couple years until you collect about 12 or more, then have it restrung. Paying by the inch is expensive<\/strong>, so you should at least make it worth your while.<\/p>\n

\nAnd, when you do have it restrung… Have them;<\/p>\n

Individually knotted.<\/h2>\n

\nMake sure you get them individually knotted<\/strong> (a knot between each and every pearl).<\/p>\n

\nThat knot does a couple great things;<\/strong> It keeps the pearls separated slightly so they don’t rub against each other and break off the outer shell…<\/p>\n

And… It keeps the pearls secure.<\/h2>\n

\nThe knot keeps the pearls safe in case you accidentally break the cord<\/strong>. If the strand or cord breaks, only one pearl will fall off the strand (instead of 40 pearls rolling all over the floor).<\/p>\n

\nSo get them knotted! It’s a must!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pearl consistency:<\/h2>\n

\nTry to keep your pearls consistent as well.<\/strong> This is something people tend to forget.<\/p>\n

\nWhen you opt to buy more pearls for a birthday or Christmas gift, take the strand of pearls with you, so the jeweler can match and measure them<\/strong> for size and color. That way all your pearls will look alike.<\/p>\n

Stay away from graduated pearls:<\/h2>\n

\nI would suggest staying away from making a graduated pearl necklace. That’s where the sizes of the pearls<\/strong> go from big to small. Some people like to have bigger pearls in the center, then having them get smaller and taper to the ends of the necklace…<\/p>\n

\nI love them, they look good, but when you’re wearing the necklace, the bigger pearls will never be centered on your neck<\/strong>. They will always be riding up and driving you crazy straightening them.<\/p>\n

\nSo if you get them all the same size, you won’t have to worry about that maddening problem<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The best size of pearl to use:<\/h2>\n

\nThe perfect mm size of pearl to purchase for an add-a-pearl necklace is 5mm. 5mm pearls are ideal<\/strong> because 5mm is what I would call an every day pearl size<\/strong>. Not too big, not too small. They are the great to wear every day (She’ll get more use out of them).<\/strong><\/p>\n

In summary:<\/h2>\n

\nKnot the pearls individually, create an 18″ necklace (with a 14kt gold chain and clasp<\/a>), buy matching pearls in size, shape and color (Slight pink, or rose tone works BEST<\/strong>), string them every couple of years to save you money, and wear the necklace often<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nWearing the necklace often is better for the pearls… Because the oils from your skin<\/strong> will keep the pearls looking shiny and lustrous and pretty. Packing them away in a box will dry them out and make them turn yellow, ugly and crack (so don’t do that).<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nAnd lastly, don’t forget about making that matching pearl bracelet.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nCheers! :)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An add-a-pearl necklace is basically a starter pearl necklace. It begins with just a couple of pearls (see picture, top necklace) and you keep adding pearls to it over the years until it gets totally [Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gemstones","category-guides"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1612"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}