Aunt Elsa's pearls

This is probably the most time-consuming jewellery repair I've ever made. What made it especially "complicated" is the fact that the pearls are (a) fancy, bought from a traditional jeweller, (b) old -- and (c) they belong to a beloved aunt, my father's only sister since my other aunt passed away long before I was born. Since May she is also a widow. So I wanted to do my very, very best knotting these pearls after the necklace had broken.

The necklace is graduated so first I had to be sure I put the pearls on in the right order. Then I could begin knotting. Slowly, making every knot more than perfect. Re-doing them if neccessary. Using my favourite method, a variation of Celia Martin's needle method. Then, finally, finish it all off. The jeweller had used the traditional shellac method to attach the pearl silk to the ends, which is a bit different from the methods I have used before.

Elsa was very pleased with the pearls. Even after we forgot to take them with us when visiting her the first time after it was finished. I thought mum had taken the necklace because she had a bag to carry it in, she thought I had taken it because I was the one repairing it. But the next time my parents visited, it was remembered and she could finally get her pearls back, complementing the quality of the repair. That felt very good to hear!