Pearl by pearl, she built a career in jewelry

Stringing, mending and remaking beads is a deep-rooted passion for Renata Terjeki, one of the few remaining artists of her genre.< /p>< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">LONDON — Prior to her successful, if somewhat niche, career, Hungarian-born bead stringer Renata Terjeki was never a fan of beads.

"I never wanted to chain," Ms. Terjeki, 47, said in a recent video interview from her small, windowless, lamp-lit workshop, tucked away in the basement of luxury jeweler Bentley & Skinner on London's vibrant Piccadilly district.

For her, pearl necklaces were the preserve of people over 80, and stringing them was an easy activity: "I assumed that everything 'they did was put the beads on a string, tie it up somehow, and that's it,' she said.

But the variety and complexity of her work over her 15-year career has proven otherwise.

[Mrs. tips from Terjeki on how to store, clean and preserve your pearl jewelry]

Today Mrs. Terjeki is entrusted with some of the most exquisite pearl jewelry at the world, to be rethreaded, repaired and sometimes redesigned.

ImageMs. Terjeki wrapping thread around the end of a set of beads before attaching a small metal coil that prevents the bead from rubbing against the clasp. Credit...Mary Turner for the New York Times s

Discretion "is an unspoken rule in the business," said Terjeki, who is often required to sign confidentiality agreements when working on high-end pieces. But clients she can name include auction houses Bonhams and Sotheby's, and jewelry stores Moussaieff and Bentley & Skinner. Private clients have included a daughter of the Russian President, Vladimir V. Putin, (for whom she donned a gold and pearl necklace in the shape of a prayer bead one Christmas) and European royalty.

Almost everyone finds her through word of mouth.

In 2015, Ms. Terjeki opened an Instagram account under the nickname @stringing_along. She wanted to correct misconceptions around bead stringing that she herself had nurtured. Among the works on display are woven beaded watch straps, black diamond moccasin tassels, gemstone curtain ornaments and an antique Cartier bag covered in tiny pearls.

Contrary to what one might think expect precious and semi-precious stone beads, and sometimes even coral, to make up around 35-40% of Ms. Terjeki's work, a she declared. ("It's the same technique," she says. "Just a different material.") And even tape is part of her repertoire. It's traditionally the job of a bead cobbler to wrap hair-colored velvet ribbons around the frames of certain tiaras, she said.

ImageMs. Terjeki's workshop is in the basement of Bentley & Skinner, which specializes in anti...