The PEARL Lovers Thread!

TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others

#691
loogirl said:
My grandmother just passed this vintage ring on to me for Mother's Day - it was made in the 50s and has sapphires surrounding the pearl. Set in white gold.

I want to get it resized to fit my right hand so I can wear my wedding set on my left - but I'm scared they will mess it up. Any experiences sizing a pearl ring?

Also, I got these Akoya pearl studs from my husband for Mother's day - they are from Brilliant Earth.

View attachment 3698125

View attachment 3698127

View attachment 3698128
Click to expand...

What a beautiful ring! I love antique white gold jewelry. It has a certain mellow elegance. The studs from your DH are also lovely!

Years ago I took a pearl ring into a mall jewelry store to be sized down. This was before I knew that mall jewelry stores are not the best places to take jewelry to be altered. They shipped the ring off someplace to be sized, as mall jewelry stores tend to do, and the ring came back great. The pearls weren't damaged, and I don't think they removed them.

Since the ring is very old, if the pearl is epoxied in place you should ask the jeweler to check to make sure it is secure in its setting. And maybe consider removing the pearl, cleaning it and the setting, and re-epoxying. Old epoxy often dries out, flakes, and no longer holds a pearl securely in place. I have an antique ring in which one of the pearls fell off. It had a combination prong/epoxy setting. Luckily I located the pearl. Took it into a jeweler and they removed all the pearls, cleaned them, cleaned their settings, removed all the old epoxy, and reglued the pearls. The ring and the pearls really look much better. It cost about $50.

Look for a jewelry store that has good bench jewelers that have done this sort of thing before. Many of the jewelry stores around here sell mostly diamonds and wedding sets and the jewelers they have on staff sometimes are inexperienced/low-paid and don't usually work with pearls. Read the reviews on Yelp. And ask for written estimates. There are some jewelry stores around here that are known for saying "Sure we'll size your ring for $50" then produce a bill for $150, claiming they had to reset the stone. Be sure to ask a lot of questions when you shop around.

Congratulations! The ring and earrings are both absolutely lovely!
 
  • Like
Reactions: prepster and cdtracing
#692
cdtracing said:
I guess it may be a Southern custom. There are others in my family that will gift pearls for graduation, confirmation, or other special occasions. I know when I was a teenager, there was a formal cotillion ball held every year where debutantes from the "society" families were presented. Families generally gifted pearls to their daughters for their big night. It was a big thing back then but I don't think they have the ball anymore in my home town. My sister was presented & our parents gave her pearl & diamond earrings to wear with her gown. I was too much of a rebel & a tomboy in those days & had no desire to be presented when I came of age but I had several friends who did. I believe many also received pearls to wear that night. I remember my sister having to take cotillion/etiquette classes & good grades in school was also a requirement for participation. I think Atlanta still holds the White Ball Cotillion every year, called that because the debutantes gowns are white ( symbol of virginity, I suppose). It's a shame to see a lot of the old traditions dying out. I wish I had had more of an appreciation of them when I was younger.
Click to expand...

The coming-out cotillion sounds like a lovely tradition! I always thought the Mexican quinceañera celebration was a beautiful tradition. That seems to be something that is lacking in the modern world, celebrations to commemorate the arrival of womanhood and adulthood, to remind girls that in spite of everything being a woman is really quite wonderful.

When I was in high school a friend had a very lavish party for her sixteenth birthday. Or rather her parents did. They invited about 65 girls from her high school class to an elaborate luncheon at the local woman's club. There were waiters! There were flowers! We all got party favors of small bottles of perfume! <swoon> We all wore dresses and heels. It was just Da Bomb. We all felt about ten years older. Celebrations like that make growing up seem quite wonderful.

You're right, it is a shame to see old traditions die out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: prepster, JenW and cdtracing
#696
Hello everyone!
I have just bought this beautiful necklace:
big.JPEG
 
  • Like
Reactions: Florasun, prepster, BBC and 6 others
#698
I'm feeling depressed today because I got a gorgeous pair of Tahitian keshi pearl earrings from Kojimapearls for Mother's Day and after wearing them for the first time yesterday, one of the earrings must have fallen off during the course of the day because when I went to take them off, one of them was missing. I've looked everywhere in my house and no luck. I'm wondering if the backing was defective because this has never happened to me before - where an earring just falls off my ear like this. And I have short hair, so it's not like it got tangled in my hair or whatever. So sad. :(
 
#699
emchhardy said:
I'm feeling depressed today because I got a gorgeous pair of Tahitian keshi pearl earrings from Kojimapearls for Mother's Day and after wearing them for the first time yesterday, one of the earrings must have fallen off during the course of the day because when I went to take them off, one of them was missing. I've looked everywhere in my house and no luck. I'm wondering if the backing was defective because this has never happened to me before - where an earring just falls off my ear like this. And I have short hair, so it's not like it got tangled in my hair or whatever. So sad. :(
Click to expand...

I'm so sorry you lost your pearl [emoji17]. I would definitely contact them and let them know what happened. Attach a photo if you can. Honestly, they IMO should replace it. I would, it's the right thing to do. Please let us know how it all turns out, if you do decide to contact them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: prepster, cdtracing and JenW
#701
emchhardy said:
I'm feeling depressed today because I got a gorgeous pair of Tahitian keshi pearl earrings from Kojimapearls for Mother's Day and after wearing them for the first time yesterday, one of the earrings must have fallen off during the course of the day because when I went to take them off, one of them was missing. I've looked everywhere in my house and no luck. I'm wondering if the backing was defective because this has never happened to me before - where an earring just falls off my ear like this. And I have short hair, so it's not like it got tangled in my hair or whatever. So sad. :sad:
Click to expand...
I'm so sorry! I hope you find/replace it quickly. I agree with Cyanide Rose - contact the jeweler. Update with any news.
 
#703
emchhardy said:
I'm feeling depressed today because I got a gorgeous pair of Tahitian keshi pearl earrings from Kojimapearls for Mother's Day and after wearing them for the first time yesterday, one of the earrings must have fallen off during the course of the day because when I went to take them off, one of them was missing. I've looked everywhere in my house and no luck. I'm wondering if the backing was defective because this has never happened to me before - where an earring just falls off my ear like this. And I have short hair, so it's not like it got tangled in my hair or whatever. So sad. :(
Click to expand...

So sorry to hear this. I lost a pearl pendant before during my travels - no idea where it is still and I'm still feeling broken hearted though I bought back a replacement
 
#704
^ I've sent an e-mail to Kojimapearl and am awaiting response. I do think that it must have been a faulty backing (how else would an earring just fall out of your ear?!). If I don't hear anything soon, then I will place a call.
I've been depressed to say the least.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cdtracing
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top