Be gentle - but honest

[Dennis]

but... if the flower is supposed to sit off centre, won't the weight of it, just centre itself?

It just might be counter balanced by the fastener, Liz, but only wearing it for half an hour or so will clear that up. When I once made a necklace for mother of the bride, she resorted to some double sided tape at the back of the pendant to keep in in place.

[Dennis]

Dear Tia,

You have worked hard on your necklace, so I did not want to open up this subject unasked. However silver does tarnish and become unsightly with time. Then the necklace will be put away and no longer be worn, or land back on your bench for a remedy.

In the short term, tarnish can be delayed by putting it into a sealed plastic bag, or plastic box with an anti-tarnish tab (just type anti-tarnish tab into google). For necklaces, I quite like the clear plastic boxes intended for pencils, from Muji. If the necklace is only worn occasionally ‘for best’, this will keep it in good order for a year or more.

After that silver tends to look distinctly tired and normally I see no objection to silver dip, which quickly restores it. However with strings of pearls attached and pearls for decoration I can only think of applying dip with a flat artist’s brush and then rinsing carefully. This would be tedious but might be the best you can do. An alternative is the ion exchange method: crumple some kitchen foil in the bottom of a small container, add a drop of washing up liquid and warm water. Drop in the necklace and the black sulphides will be transferred to the foil, provided the silver parts are both in contact with the foil. Unfortunately these methods depend on your pearls, your thread and your adhesive being sufficiently resistant.

I hope you will forgive me for this long rant, but I am not entirely happy with show and tells on a forum, that have no constructive input.

Regards, Dennis.

[teatowell]

lucky sister!

but... if the flower is supposed to sit off centre, won't the weight of it, just centre itself?

Thought about this a bit and have worn it (for a short while) and it stayed in place albeit it wasn't for long . The clasp does help counter balance but I think the double sided tape is a great idea - will have a bit in my bag just in case.

[Di Sandland]

I am not entirely happy with show and tells on a forum, that have no constructive input.

Quite agree Dennis - I see little point in posting pics if constructive input doesn't follow. Like everybody else, I find it uncomfortable - but it's how we learn x

[teatowell]

Dennis,

I appreciate your comments as I hadn't considered the piece in the long term. The pearls are on a sterling silver, nylon coated soft flex wire so not actually strung and all the flower elements were soldered. Would that make the ion exchange work more easily?
I'll look into the boxes as I wanted something to store it safely in anyway, so that makes sense, and make sure I add in an anti-tarnish tab too.

Thanks for your help.

Tanya

[lrodgers]

The design is astounding.

[teatowell]

Thanks Lisa, glad others like it too.