Building My Daughter A Pearl Necklace

Q: I interested in building a necklace for my daughter. She is only 2yrs right now. But the idea is to purchase a pearl for events throughout her life; documenting each pearl, the kind it is, why I picked it, and what was going on in her life at the time. Then to have them strung in the order they were purchased and to be given to her on her wedding day.

I just love the example on your web site with the varying colors from white, pinks, gold, and black. Wow, striking! I think I like the 8mm size I wish that those south sea pearls came in 8mm, thinking those would be a nice addition for sweet 16 and graduations. But I think 9 mm would be too big for a wedding … or maybe not. What do you think?

If I were to do this through your company will you all be around in 25 years? Do you string them if I were to send them all back to you marked in the order to be strung? About how many pearls are on the 14 to 16-inch choker? I'm at least 4 pearls behind already: Birth, 1st b-day, 2nd b-day, and Baptism (also thinking of adding one for the time she broke her leg and wore a pink cast for 6 weeks) I would also want to get them for holidays, Xmas, Valentines, Easter, and for whatever other reasons come up.

Is this actually a possible thing to do? I have not heard of anyone else doing it, came up with it on my own. What do you think?

A: Well, I love the idea and we certainly hope to be around in 25 years! It’s kind of an updated version of the add-a-pearl necklace that was such a popular tradition with our grandparents (and some of our parents) generation. I’ll try to address each of your questions in order and if you think of anything else you need, just let me know.

1. You are correct about the South Sea pearls, the smallest size is generally 8-9 mm because the oysters are quite large and the bead nucleus used is usually between 6 and 7 mm. When the pearl forms around the nucleus, the finished pearl will be at least 3 mm larger.
2. It may be too early to tell if the 9 mm pearls are too large for a wedding since it will depend on how the personal style your daughter develops, perhaps how tall she grows to be, and the formality of the wedding. 7-8 mm is generally ideal for most women of any age, but maybe you could consider a few larger ones that she could use on a charm style bracelet to go with the strand?
3. We do offer stringing services (and will do so for at least the next 26 years) so once you have the collection it would not be any trouble to have them strung.
4. The number of pearls on a finished strand will depend on the size of the pearls but for a 7-8 mm strand, there will be approximately 56 pearls, for 8-9 mm there will be around 50 pearls.
5. Love the pink cast! Wish I had one like that when I was 7, but I digress….
6. It is possible to do this however, there is something you might want to keep in mind, most strands are matched for color, luster, shape, and with a slight graduation in size from front to back in order to give a pleasing and smooth effect. To the naked eye they will appear to have a uniform size and overall appearance. When you purchase pearls one at a time if you want the finished strand to have that smooth graduation (even with a larger size range) it can be very difficult. If you are thinking about a multicolor version then the pearl color and overtones will not be as critical to the finished product. The size, shape, and quality will be something you might want to think about before you get started. If you think outside the box and consider perhaps a non-traditional style necklace like a tin-cup or charm style, then it would be much less of a consideration.

Thank you for your inquiry and please let me know if there is anything else I can help with (or more opinions to share) and I’ll be happy to provide both!