Grandma's Opera Glasses

T hese were my grandmother's opera glasses. I assume she got them in the 1920's while she was an opera singer in Italy.

The only markings I can find are "France", and the numerals 86 (possibly 98). The lens elements were rather dirty, but I was able to disassemble them and clean the glass. I'd guess the magnification to be 3x or 4x. There is one panel of MoP missing on the handle, with a good bit of verdigris as shown in the photos. Other than that, they're in very good condition for their age.
I don't think I'll go to the trouble of tying to replace the missing panel, but is there a way to clean the verdigris without damaging the pearl? Should I consider any treatment for the pearl?

 

Vinegar will take the greenies off. Or a good old fingernail, for that matter. That's how I usually start. The finish beneath is already long gone of course. Normally I use ketchup on greenies, but it might stain the shell. White vinegar on a paper towel won't, but will take some rubbing.

 

Grandma would be proud if her grandson bought a little slat of MOP and did a little work to fit it

 

It wouldn't be that horrible. I could probably manage it, but some folks don't have the manual dexterity. Or the patience. (or sheer stubbornness. I was trained by cats and am thus well-supplied with Stubborn.)

 

Then white vinegar it is! I'll have a go with that first. It's a bit crusty down inside the area where the panel is lost. Would it be good to dab it clear nail polish to seal the area and stabilize it?

 

Well, I keep her silver polished...

I'll check around online and see if I can find a slat the approximate size. Just how fragile is MoP, anyway?

 

If I were to have a go at it, what should I use to affix a piece of MoP to the space? Simple epoxy?

 

Hahaha

I have never worked with it, but I see it everyday on my guitars as neck inlays. I see people using rotary tools like Dremel to cut it. You may get lucky and find some pieces that are close to the size you need.

maybe @kyratango has worked with it.

 

or @Shangas

 

The jewelry glue is E-6000 . It dries clear among other things. It'll require getting the old glue out first of course, and you'll need someone who knows what they're doing to tell you how. It's probably hide glue, but the only methods i know to loosen that would also take off the rest of the shell.

 

I never worked with large pieces like this... You may need to find some MOP long game tokens and cut\adjust with dremel
For the verdigris, the vinegar method is a no no, it will eat the mop
I'd go with WD40 and brass wire brush (will polish metal without harm, just remove the blackening of the MOP after with a soapy dampened cloth).

 

Ahh good, someone who knows what she's doing. I knew vinegar would react with coral. Should have known about the MoP.

 

Looking for cheap sources of MoP to fix the handle?

Easy.

COASTERS.

MOTHER OF PEARL DRINKING COASTERS.

There's LOADS out there and they're dirt-cheap. Nice big panels of pearl.

Buy a few, cut a strip off, sand it down to size, and then glue it in using an appropriate adhesive. Save the other coasters for when you need another chunk of pearl to fix something else.

DONE.

I would suggest clamping it down while it's drying. Try elastic bands or something similar.