Beach Themed Jewelry from a Vintage Pearl Necklace

The first time I saw my friend, Emily, after she had returned from a trip to France, she was wearing this amazing pearl necklace crafted from linen and pearls. It was positively gorgeous in person and I just fell in love on the spot. But, seeing as I couldn’t just jet off to France and buy one myself, I decided to DIY my own version. Wouldn’t it be a fun project to upcycle a vintage pearl necklace from the thrift store into beach themed jewelry like this?

My version would be a touch simpler, though. In fact, I decided to make a bracelet first to see if my replication idea would even worked.

First, I scouted out a vintage pearl necklace from the thrift store.

And instead of linen, I used some hemp cord from the craft store.

Once I had everything I needed, I sat down and began making the beach jewelry I had envisioned.

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Making a Boho Bracelet from Old Pearls

First, I cut several lengths of hemp cord for my beach bracelet. Randomly, I cut seven strands of hemp, mostly because I like odd-numbered things.

Well, it wasn’t until I was finished that I realized Cottonball had stolen a strand and I ended up only using six in boho bracelet.

Sigh.

Anyway, I started by making a loop at one end of the bundle of hemp cord.

Then I wrapped it tightly with jewelry wire to give it an “unfinished yet finished” look.

When all was said and done, that’s what it looked like. 

After deconstructing the vintage pearls from the thrift store, I began knotting and stringing the pearls along the strands of hemp cord.

For any of the pearl beads that had a smaller than normal hole, I used a reamer to gently enlarge it so that it could more easily slide onto the hemp cord.

I continued knotting the vintage pearls on the hemp cord while checking the length along my wrist. 

When I was satisfied with the fit, I created another loop that I wrapped with jewelry wire. Finally, I added a jump ring to each loop and then added clasps to the jump rings.

Beach Themed Jewelry from a Vintage Pearl Necklace

That was it! I had recreated the fancy French necklace into a bracelet version in just a few minutes for just a few dollars.

My pearl bracelet is not as amazing as Emily’s pearl necklace- and I don’t have some fabulous story about finding it in Le France.

But with just a handful of materials, a few measly American dollars, and lounging on my kitchen floor on a lazy weekend morning, I achieved a somewhat similar look.

I really do love how this beach themed jewelry turned out!

I still have oodles of vintage pearls from the thrift store jewelry left over. So, I’ll definitely try making a necklace with the hemp cord, as well. 

And I’ll make sure that Cottonball doesn’t steal one of my strands of hemp cord next time!

Isn’t that such a fun way to repurpose an old pearl necklace? Super easy to make and it’s such a fresh look compared to a stuffy strand.

Before you go, feel free to check out my friend, Salvage Sister & Mister’s, refashioned pearl necklace idea here, too!

And if you enjoyed this upcycling idea for upcycled jewelry, then you may absolutely LOVE this collection of even more DIY jewelry ideas!

Craft on!

S

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