Shortening a Long Pearl Necklace
We added a Sterling Silver Pearl Shortener Clasp to our stores about a year ago and have been amazed at the success we’ve had selling the product. We have not been able to keep it in stock because of the demand. We did not realize there were that many long pearl necklaces out there!
For those of you not famliar with these functional clasps, here is a brief explanation of why you may want a Pearl Shortener Clasp, and how to use one:
You may wear a long continuous strand of pearls as a chocker necklace using these special necklace shortener clasp findings. They are hinged and have a snap closure. They will not damage your pearls or beads. Some people also call these findings a twister clasp.

To use this type of finding, just fold your strand of pearls or beads in half. Collect each end of the folded necklace in the clasp ring, then clasp the doubled strand around your neck. Try the same approach with uneven lengths of the necklace for a long & short strand look! Example picture shows a sterling silver pearl shortener used with 5mm Potato pearls.
We just added a larger, Silver Plated Pearl Shortner and will soon be adding a Gold Plated version of the clasp pictured below. Check them out!
Beading Contest Winners
Thanks to everyone who entered and voted in our Winter 2010 Beading Contest. The number of entries (120+) and the number of votes (1000+) both exceeded expectations. We hope you all enjoyed the event and are inspired by the wide variety of fantastic designs! See all the winners and entrants.
Here are the winners:
First Prize Traditional Category & Grand Prize Winner - $200 Gift Certificate
“Take Me to the River” by Susan Doktor

First Prize Winner Eclectic Category - $100 Gift Certificate
“Emerald Cuff” by Yoshi Kato

First Prize Winner Contemporary Category - $100 Gift Certificate
“Taylor” by Nas Garces-Perlas

Random Prize Winner
“Ocean Dreams” by Pamela Raskin - $100 Gift Certificate

Hard to Find Items
One thing we love about the Tucson Gem Show is the opportunity to pick up hard to find items. An example is the Copper Stardust Curved Spacer Beads pictured below. We found these several years ago and they sold out instantly. Subsequently, we added simliar items in silver and vermeil which sold out instantly.
Then, as frequently happens in this industry, we could not find any replacements from any of our vendors. So, our customers were disappointed, we were disappointed, but we all went on to something else that is hard to replace.
Well, they’re back! This time we found them in both 8mm and 10mm sizes in Solid Copper. We also have them in Sterling Silver and Vermeil again as well. Find them all in our New Beads @abeadstore.com.
New Pearls from Tucson
We bought hundreds of new styles of freshwater pearls in Tucson this year. You’ll see them in smaller batches rather than one large one. We were really low on both our premium and economy pearls. Both are on their way to being restocked in PearlBeadSale.com and abeadstore.com. For those who don’t know, PearlBeadSale.com offers higher discounts on our pearls when you purchase more than 10 strands at a time. abeadstore.com carries the same premium pearls as well as our economy pearls, which start at just $1.95 a strand, and our specialty pearls.
We’ve already added a wide variety of new items. See them all in our New Beads!











