Bead Reamer for Pearls please?

[caroleallen]

Why don't the people who drill them in the first place make the holes a bit larger?

[Dennis]

Why don't the people who drill them in the first place make the holes a bit larger?

Pearlescence says 0.7mm is the world standard, presumably to accommodate the original silk thread and allow for the size of the knots.

If people now need larger holes the world standard will one day have to be updated.

[taylordebs]

Thanks everyone, Much appreciated x

[pearlescence]

The holes in pearls are 0.7mm as standard because that is the size they are, which suits silk thread and knots nicely. They were originally drilled with a small hole as pearls were sold by weight, the momme, so the more you drilled the more you lost.
If the standard was changed now then all the posts and findings would have to change as well. And there isn't a need for it. Mostly, if we want larger holes, it is easy to do, so we do it.

[Tabby66]

Aha!! From now on all the posts on my pearl caps will be made from 0.7mm wire!! Thank you!!

[Kwant]

So forcing a red hot wire through the pearl and waving away the fumes, which I might add smell like burning plastic is not the way to do it???

[Wallace]

So forcing a red hot wire through the pearl and waving away the fumes, which I might add smell like burning plastic is not the way to do it???

are you waving them out of the window or under your nose? lol

[pearlescence]

Hi, sorry I missed this query..it's probably long gone now.
We never use reamers or clamps here - either a proper pearl drill or more often than not, my old black and decker with a 1mm bit does the job - the bit looks swamped but if you are doing only a few pearls it isn't worth the effort of fiddling around aligning the old drill holes to the drill bit in a pearl drill.
We hold them in finger and thumb. A clamp is likely to scratch the pearls if fastened tightly and the pearls will spin around if not too tight. I think we bought one years ago and tried it out..then put it away.
Simple household drill, 1mm drill bits (which are available on my website) and hold them in your finger and thumb. You might drill your fingers a few times at first but you soon learn!