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How to Repair a Missing Knot in a Strand of Pearls For some mysterious reason the very knot that is supposed to separate two knotted pearls (imitation or cultured, whatever) is gone. It has come UNDONE and instead of the strand appearing even there is now a big gap where two pearls ride into each other, knot missing. The obvious way to remedy this is of course to re-knot the entire strand. This is time consuming, hard to do well if no experience and expensive if it must be given to an expert. The strand may not be worth the cost of professional re-knotting. Still, it would be wearable and/or saleable if the pesky "gap" was not there.
Here's what I have done: In the "gap" I tie another knot using a piece of matching string or thread. It must match perfectly. Around the knot I snip off the two thread ends at c:a 1/2". I push the string ends into the holes of the two pearls, one on each side, using a darning needle. But, there is still a "gap" between the knot and the two pearls, one on each side of the knot. I push that part in too, on each side. To ensure that it stays put and does not slide out again, I put a tiny amount of clear jewelry cement on the exposed parts before pushing them into the holes. A very tiny dab of cement inserted into each pearl hole adds extra insurance, and then I let dry for at least an hour. Bingo, the new knot is now there and no more unsightly "gap."
I only recommend this tip if there is only one or a few knots that came undone. With more lost knots than that it may not be practical to do as it's hard to make the all knots appear original. But for a couple of them, neatly executed, it can be worth doing. Additional Tip: This also works if a strand of pearls has a break and needs to be re-attached. Be sure to take off at least two pearls at each end of the break, attach the repair string to the string ends thus exposed, and add your own knots. Always hide the repair string ends inside the pearl holes and don't cut them too short so you get unsightly tufts, secure the pushed-in ends with a little clear jewelry cement. Make sure it's neatly done. Remember that if you can see that it looks sloppy, so can everyone else. The best repair or restoration is the one that no one knows has been done. When selling an item that has been repaired, do disclose that however, it's the honest thing to do. Liz Bryman (Liz Collectible Jewelry & Host of Jewelcollect) | ||
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Peeling pearls - when they are odd shaped and irreplaceable-do you use nail polish?
There is a product called Perfect Pearls, it's a powder that can be mixed with acrylic, water, enamel - almost anything I guess. Comes in lots of colors. It's used in stamping (I found it at a stamping store but you can buy it online) and comes in small containers, it's not expensive. I've never tried it to paint on a damaged pearl surface though. I have used nail polish but to me it always looks like nail polish - don't know if that's just because I know it's there.
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