At Shecy Pearl Jewelry, we not only provide awesome pearl earrings, necklaces, bracelets and pendants, but also loose pearls and unfinished pearl strands. They are already for your own design. Pearls are popular craft product as they lend an element of mystery, natural beauty to jewelry designs, but making homemade pearl requires the ability to drill holes in dense, strong material that can't be cut without special tools. However, you do not need to worry. We can drill for you for free!
We have many times been questioned about half-drilled and full-drilled pearls. Half-drilled and full-drilled pearls are used for different jewelry. Half-drilled pearl is with a hole that goes only half-way through, instead of all the way through like a normal pearl. There are many findings that are made to take half-drilled pearls, like ring settings and earring posts. For half-drilled pearls, the hole length generally account for about two thirds or three fourths of the diameter of the pearl. Full-drilled pearl with a hole that a wire thread can go through. It is often used for necklaces and pendants. We drilled pearls by manual labor many years ago. Now, we use small drilling machines to make the whole process precise and easy. Various methods have been used for drilling pearls. Generally speaking, we place the pearl at a certain angle from the two sides, and the two holes meet at the centre at last. Some customers ask us if it is possible to drill pearls in size 2-3mm. From the technically perspective, the minimum diameter is 0.3mm for drill holes. As a matter of fact, it is really tough to drill in such small pearls.
The pearls are usually fixed onto a piece of jewelry using special glues, which make up of shellac, turpentine and colophonium. These special glues are used to stick the drilled pearl onto the metal findings. Mix and glue them, and push the metal end to the hole of pearl. It is common for pearls to come loose from rings, earrings and necklaces because pearls are soft and easy to be damaged. Most glue will soften with heat and pearl can easily pull off from the peg. Therefore, they should be protected from extreme temperatures and moisture. If the pearl on your ring or earring has fall off, just keep calm. You can repair it yourself. In fact, it's quite easy to glue a pearl onto a ring or earring if it has come loose. Firstly, try to clean off as much of the old glue as you can, especially for the gunk on the post. Use good glue like E600 and apply it with the tip of a toothpick. When applying the glue, try to get some down into the drill hole. Don’t use too much because it spreads easily and then the glue will on the body of the pearl. The pearl shouldn't be worn until the glue is completely cured.
If you love handcrafted jewelry, why not do it yourself? Just take a first try!
