HAND KNOTTING PEARLS

The information below is particular to natural pearls and not plastic or crystal replicas.

1. What  are pearls?

Pearls are natural gemstones formed within the shell of a pearl oyster in the sea.

Each pearl is created by a deposit of a new layer of nacre over an irritant that enters the oysters shell, it is therefore formed over a long period of time making it valuable.

A pearl is composed of calcium carbonate, which has been deposited in concentric layers, because pearls are made primarily of calcium carbonate, they are fragile, so fragile that they can be dissolved in vinegar.

   2. What is hand knotting?

Hand knotting is a process of stringing pearls on silk or similar thread and knotting each individual pearl on to the thread. If you look at the picture above, you should notice the knots between each pearl.

    3. Why should pearls be hand knotted?

Pearls are knotted for various reasons:

a. To protect the pearl:

since pearl is a natural stone, it can erode with friction caused by rubbing against another pearl on the strand or gradually crack or chip away.

b. To save your pearls from loss:

due to the value of pearls, each knot protects you from loosing the whole strand of pearls should your chord break. The most you would loose on a hand knotted pearl necklace is one pearl.

c. To give it perfect flow and fluidity of movement:

natural pearls are heavy and not as light as their plastic counterparts. This feels weighed down on plastic or synthetic fibres. Stringing and knotting your pear necklace, gives it a fluid movement.

d. To enhance its value:

I think it’s absolutely disrespectful to natural pearls to string them on fishing line, it’s almost the same as setting a diamond in copper. So to enhance or validate the value of the Pearl, stringing and knotting them on fine silk thread is befitting of their fragile and valuable status.

I hope I have been able to de-mystify the reasons behind hand knotting pearls.

For more information, you can email me at funto@baiyejewellery.com