Pearls: Sophie strings my most-sentimental pearls

I've been following Instagram posts by a Victoria, B.C. woman who has launched a business as a pearl-stringer and designer. Last month, Sophie of SophieStringsPearls mentioned that she was in Montréal, so I contacted her about a reno... of a reno. 

Lately, I've admired classic necklaces of round CFWs with disturbing frequency. Then, I realized that I once had one, a deeply sentimental 18-inch strand found for me ca. 1995 by a beloved friend, Missi, and after twenty-some years restyled as a chic 60-inch rope, by Kojima Company's Sarah Canizzaro.

Sarah added tiny 2mm-4mm akoyas to make an artful rope that I loved, but slinging five feet of pearls around my neck became harder; I was not wearing this beauty often. That's a plus about a pearl strand: if your mood changes, you can restyle it easily.  Sarah is my incontrovertible source for new pearls, but in this case, I would use only the pearls in the rope. 

We met between Sophie's visits to Montréal jewellery-trade suppliers and her introduction to her sweetheart's home city. What a pleasure to nerd out with another pearl lover; her enthusiasm and energy flowed as she showed me work in progress. To see more, visit SophieStringsPearls.  

"I'm sure you hear that you are a double for someone famous", I said, and she nodded, having received still more "You look like Kate Winslet!" compliments while here. The photo was taken at Montréal's wholesale pearl dealer Perla, with its walls of hanks:

Photo: SophieStringsPearls  

I wanted the rope made into two necklaces, the original strand and one made of small akoyas, specifyiing that they be strung randomly, and provided a sketch:

I had thought of mixing in some coloured stones, indicated by the darker rounds in the sketch, but then decided to go strictly pearl. For anyone renovating, your sketch, even if a bit clumsy, provides clarity for the designer.

Last week, I opened her shipment to find that Sophie had perfectly restored my original CFWs, and made a versatile, light layering necklace from about half of the akoyas. Both pieces drape beautifully.

Sophie's restyling

The cost for project was $CDN 230, which included a new 14k magnetic clasp (found on Etsy) for the small necklace, and Sophie's shipping. 

When I put on the restored CFWs, I blinked back tears. I saw Missi standing in my garden's sunlight, pulling the glowing pearls from her pocket. Born in Honolulu, daughter of a carriage-trade jeweller, she  possessed knowledge passed from her father and an unerring eye. By the early 2000s, though beloved by many, she chose to sequester herself. Now I have a bit of her back.