Dear Orchid members, What is the best glue for connecting a pearl on
a post? How long and how thick can the post be?
I have a large South Sea pearl and am very scared to use a glue that
might become brittle ore otherwise dysfunctional after a few years.
Epoxy used to do that, when I first started out. After that
experience I haven’t used glue on jewelry in over twenty years. So
what is the best, either high tech or traditional?
My other question concerning the pearl: Cutting off the little
blister pearls around the bottom there will be some exposed pearl
interior. Is it advisable to seal that in some way, and is there a
danger for the outside of the pearl to peel off?
Hi Regina, We use jeweler’s epoxy to secure a pearl to a post. I try
to keep the post as snug a fit to the drill hole in the pearl as
possible. As far as the cut off area, where you removed the little
blister pearls, I assume that you will be using a pearl cap to cover
it. If you put a little extra epoxy around the base of the post so
that it will coat that exposed area.
Hi Regina, I have never tried this, but, years ago, I read a
non-glue method for securing pearls. You make the peg by drawing
down a pair of wires together, so they are two half-rounds that fit
together. You then solder them, leaving the top 1/3 or so
unsoldered. Then you make a tiny wedge that fits between them. You
insert into the pearl with the wedge just barely engaged in the peg.
When it hits the end of the hole, it is pushed into the peg,
spreading it and locking the pearl (for all eternity) onto the peg.
That’s the theory. Sounds like a real pain, but I thought I’d pass
it along just the same. It may have said to widen the inner-most
part of the drilled hole with a burr. I dunno, glue sounds pretty
good to me. --Noel
The pegs and wedge system is the one used in the middle ages and
antiquity for securing 1/2 drilled pearls. It works far better than
glue but, as Noel syas, once they’re on - that’s it!
Is there anything special about jeweler’s epoxy? I’ve used regular
5 minute epoxy and like the packaging better - one plunger pushing
both parts of epoxy. I think I have a better chance of getting equal
portions of the two parts. If there is some characteristic of
jeweler’s epoxy that better suits our purposes, I’ll switch.
Hi, Linda. I honestly don’t know. I think it should be okay. Someone
else mentioned that they prefer the 1-hour epoxy because they feel it
has better holding power. I think any two-part epoxy should be okay.
Just don’t use Super Glue, which is brittle when it hardens. Epoxy
has a little give to it, making it more durable. I’d say as long as
you aren’t having any problems with what you are using, go with it.