Making Finger Button Pearls
Picked suitable seashells at the beach. Cut to a coarse size matching the subject, with a hacksaw. The shells picked were oyster-like ones, and they need to dry for several years before they can be used. If it still contains moisture, it is too soft. Smaller shells that are almost flat and not very thick work well and need not dry for as long.
The actual size is marked with a water-resistant marker, and ground down with a diamond tool.
This process is done submerged in water.
Having cut out the piece, it needs to be ground plain on one side, this will be the side facing down, so the most un-plain surface is selected.
Still, the piece is too large, now the more precise manufacturing starts. First the button rim gets some marking blue, and the plain surface of the nacre is held against it. The blue parts of the slice must now be removed.
More diamond disc work does this part of the work, the rotation of the disc should be up to down of slice, to avoid cracks in the upside surface.
When it fits into the button, it is glued with a two-component glue, and allowed to dry.
Then the brass parts are covered with tape for further treatment.
First the upside of the nacre is made plain with a fine sandpaper suitable for wet grinding. This is fine hand work....
A polish wheel that was never in contact with metal is required. This buffing wheel must not have been used on metal before, or it will discolor the nacre. The tape helps avoiding the contact to metal with the polishing wheel, this would discolor the wheel black, and that again discolor the nacre.
Finally, here is the result, the new button shown side by side with the original one.
By time, and with use, the new button will pick up the more "used" color of the old button.
