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BrideStyle #4: How to buy pearls and other bridal jewelry componentsby Stacy Werkheiser Last week in BrideStyle #3, we covered copyright and why it is unethical to simply duplicate another designer's work bead for bead. That's why I've been showing you how to look for jewelry inspiration and narrow in on what you like about your inspiration pieces and what you would change. From that, you can easily develop a laundry list of design elements you might like to use in your own bridal jewelry - without violating copyright.
And now it's time to go shopping! For my own bridal necklace and earrings, my shopping list includes white round pearls, clear round crystals, silver crystal-studded rondelles, silver filigree bead caps, and a silver clasp, plus a pair of silver earring wires. |
 Click to enlarge.
I knew the pearls were going to take the most effort, so I shopped for them first. My colleague Anna Elizabeth Draeger, associate editor of Bead&Button magazine, has a lot of experience buying pearls and wrote a basic buying guide. She recommends looking at shape, color, surface, and cost.
I knew I wanted round pearls, and I knew I wanted them to be white, but how white is white? I commenced my search at last year's Bead&Button Show where the bright lights of bead vendors caused pearls to gleam with all their might. With all that sheen dazzling my eyes, I became colorblind - which pearls were white, off-white, cream, or somewhere in between? I just couldn't tell. Finally I swallowed my pride and asked a vendor to show me the whitest pearls he had to offer, explaining that I needed them to match my blazingly white wedding dress. He knew just where to go. Turns out the strand of whitest pearls was in a hank with other lesser-white pearls. He searched through the hank strand by strand until he found them. I guess it pays to ask.
Your dress (or that of the soon-to-be bride in your life) may be a trickier shade to match, and you obviously aren't going to bring the gown shopping with you for comparison. Some bridal stores will sell you sample fabric swatches, but here's a (free) trick of my own: At home, compare the color of the dress to portable household items - a china bowl, a sheet of cardstock or paper, a skein of yarn, product packaging - until you find something that can serve as a color swatch. You might feel foolish carrying a cream-colored coffee mug to the bead store, but you'll be more confident when choosing your pearls.
Also consider the surface of the pearls, as Anna suggests. When looking at my pearls under the bright lights of the bead show, I couldn't see any imperfections because of the gleam factor. But when I brought the pearls home and examined them under normal lighting conditions, I noticed a few small scratches on some of the pearls, a yellow dot on one of them, and a dent on another. Huh. Lesson learned - look at pearls under normal lighting whenever possible. It really does make a difference.
And now let's talk about cost. While at the bead show, I bought a strand of smaller pearls for another project. The strand looked fine under normal lighting, yet cost as much as the larger, minorly imperfect pearls. How can that be? The answer is obvious now. Larger pearls should cost more than smaller pearls of the same quality. Just by comparing the price tags of the large and small pearls, I should have suspected that the larger pearls had a few flaws.
Looking back on it all, the easiest route would have been to go with crystal or glass pearls. They have beautifully smooth, consistent surfaces, come in different sizes and colors, and are significantly less expensive than real pearls. Since many brides will never wear their bridal jewelry again, definitely discuss faux pearls as an option. Then again, I want my bridal necklace and earrings to be quality mementos that I can wear for special occasions in the future, and maybe that's what you want too. In the end, I'm glad I bought the real deal. They'll make a fantastic heirloom! |
Other beads and findings
Next I purchased Crystallized Swarovski round crystals in color "crystal" (clear). I chose the 5 mm size to give some variety to my 8 mm pearls. I found my crystal-studded rondelles at ArtBeads.com in 5 and 6 mm sizes, again with the goal of setting off the 8 mm pearls with smaller beads. |
 Click to enlarge.
Toward the end of my supply shopping, I bought the gorgeous pearl-accented silver clasp at Star's Clasps. Finally, I bought a pair of earring wires. Though I haven't determined the design of my earrings yet, I know I'm aiming for simple dangles. To subtly fancy them up, I chose earring wires slightly more decorative than your standard French hooks. These circular earring wires from Fusion Beads will help dress up even plain drop earrings.
As in past posts, this is a significantly condensed chronology of events. It took many hours of shopping the Bead&Button Show, my local bead store, and online retailers to arrive at this collection of stuff. In other words, don't expect a single shopping spree to satisfy all your wedding jewelry needs - just keep on shopping!
Once you have your components, it's time to start designing. Next week we jump in by looking at the best jewelry designs for different women, different dresses, and a host of other factors.
Coming next week...
BrideStyle #5: Designing wedding jewelry around the bride, the dress, and all the rest
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