The pearls can be tumbled in fine salt solution, with natural materials like eg. slivers of bamboo, eucalyptus chips, nowadays even pulverized precious-metal dust. Sometimes also beeswax or other chemical substances are used in order to conceal small imperfections and to improve the lustre.
You can clean or brighten new or vintage pearls at home using a mild detergent or dish soap. If your pearls have become yellow, try whitening them or restoring their shine with acetone. Acetone will not harm pearls, but never use ammonia, vinegar, or chlorine bleach near your pearls.
Pearl jewelry requires a bit of special care. The gem has to be protected from heating and open fire (due to the fact that pearls contain 2% of water, they can crack and loose their luster).
Do pearls lose their luster or become dull? It's possible that pearls can lose their shimmer and shine over time, but you can prevent it from happening by learning how to clean your cultured pearl necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings.
Pearl Lustre
Lustre is more than a combination of surface brilliance and a deep glow. It is caused by light travelling down through the translucent layers of nacre and reflecting back to the eye from deep within the pearl.
Deep clean and polish your pearls to restore color and luster. This should be done every few years or so (more on that later).
Nacre quality: Luster and nacre quality are closely related. If the nucleus is visible under the nacre, or if the pearl has a dull, chalky appearance, you can assume that the nacre is thin. This affects the luster as well as the durability of the pearl.
Jewel Brite™ jewelry cleaner includes a very soft brush, contains no ammonia, acid or alcohol and is generally safe for pearls and mother-of-pearl shell. After the beads are clean and dry, you can apply a light coating of mineral oil with a Q-tip, let sit overnight and wipe away any excess oil with a soft cloth.
Freshwater pearls, like other types of pearls, can be significantly damaged by water. Moreover, the soap, shampoo, conditioner, or oils you use in the shower contain chemicals that can further damage your pearl jewellery. Hence, wearing your pearl jewellery in the shower is not advisable.
Akoya pearls are known around the world as having the highest quality luster of all pearl types. The luster is so sharp, shiny and reflective that Akoya pearls are often described as having “Mirror-sharp” or “Ball-bearing” luster.
After all, pearls have a predicted lifespan of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred years if cared-for properly. All pearls, whether natural or cultured, anorganic, which means that they were composed by a living organism. "That is the very essence of the warmth and softness of their glow".
Should You Wear Pearls Every Day? There's a straightforward answer to this question. It's really up to you and what you're comfortable with. If you're someone who takes very good care of their belongings and is cautious with how you handle them, then wearing your pearls every day shouldn't be a problem.
Pearls can be coated to enhance their lustre. A clear lustrous coating is applied to the pearl, which improves it temporarily, but with time and use the coating may peel off showing the inferior lustre underneath. The coating can be detected by the feel or where the coating has peeled off.
If your pearl is authentic, you'll notice bubbles starting to appeal on its surface. This is because the acetic acid in vinegar is strongly reactive when exposed to calcium carbonate.
The cleaner the surface of the pearl, the more valuable it is. Look for an absence of disfiguring spots, bumps or cracks on the surface of a pearl, also known as "cleanliness." Notice that the highest quality pearls have a sharp, mirror-like reflection.
It's pretty much impossible to tell the difference between a natural and cultured pearl by just looking at its outer appearance. The only way to make absolute certain whether a pearl is natural or not is to perform an x-ray of the internal structure of the pearl.
Genuine pearls are shinier than fake pearls. You can measure shine in luster, which is the intensity and softness of a pearl's surface, it generally has to do with how bright and clear a pearl looks. Natural pearls have more shine than artificial ones because they're made from natural materials.
Clean with a damp cloth only as needed.
If your pearls are visibly stained, you can mix a solution of lukewarm water and mild dish soap, dip a soft cleaning cloth in it and wipe the pearls. Do NOT submerge a pearl necklace in water, as it will weaken the silk thread. 3.
To protect the inside of their shells from parasites and foreign irritants, the mollusk coats it with nacre—an organic substance that gives mother-of-pearl its iridescent effect and distinct beauty. This multicolored iridescence is caused by the way light reflects on the layers of nacre on the shell.
Second, if exposed to hot water such as in a shower it can harm the nacre so in this case if wondering can mother of pearl get wet we recommend no. However outside of the shower, pool or beach it's still recommended to wear them often as pearls get better with wear.
The best advice we can give you is to wear your pearls as often as possible -- the body's natural oils keep pearls lustrous. Beware of perfumes, makeup, hairspray, and household cleaners such as dish washing or hand soaps as their chemical properties can damage your pearl.
Precautions to take when washing your pearls
Avoid using any kind of harsh cleaning products on your gem. This includes items, such as baking soda and vinegar. The chemicals present in these natural cleansers could eat into the outer layer of the pearl and cause irreversible damage.
Pearls harm the natives of these zodiac signs. This means that people of Taurus, Gemini, Virgo, Capricorn and Aquarius ascendant should not wear pearls.