Caring for pearls: rules and useful tips

How to store pearls

Natural or farmed pearls are fragile and need to be stored properly.

Microclimate

It can be created without problems by an air conditioner, but this is not always possible. Owners of pearl jewelry comply with the following conditions whenever possible.

Humidity. The air in the room should not be dry, otherwise the pearl will begin to dehydrate and the aragonite will flake off. But if there is a lot of moisture, the stones will become cloudy. To ensure that the humidity level is optimal, on a hot day or during the heating season, place a container of water near the box.
Temperature. You need a medium one - the stones will crack from the heat and become cloudy from the cold.
Sun. The mineral is afraid of direct sunlight. Prolonged exposure to the sun makes the stones dull and yellowish.
Dust. This causes microcracks to appear on the surface of the pearls.
Tobacco smoke. Pearls are contraindicated in a room in which smoking occurs. He dies from tobacco smoke.

If the jewelry is rarely worn, it is rubbed with velvet from time to time. This is how the pearlescent shine is preserved.

Storage

As a container, a plastic bag or other sealed packaging is excluded - they prevent the penetration of moisture, which is why the pearls suffocate and the nacre fades. A fabric bag is also not suitable - here the pearls will wear out.

The place that ideally meets all the requirements for storing pearls is a box. She must be:

durable to prevent external influences;
spacious, where even a large necklace can be placed freely, and the clasps do not come into contact with the beads;
closed tightly to create a barrier to dust or light;
lined with soft natural material.

There is no place for other jewelry in it. It is also the best solution when transporting stones.

Cleaning jewelry

You need to take care of the sea gem delicately, as it is fragile. Cleaning from dirt must be done regularly, because old dirt eats into mother-of-pearl and it loses its beauty forever.

Be sure to watch: How to determine the authenticity of a diamond

Basic techniques:

If the stone is gold, you should buy jewelry paste to care for it. Apply a small amount of the composition to a piece of microfiber and gently wipe the gem inserts.
Add 1 part shampoo to 10 parts water. Soak a cotton pad in the solution and gently wipe the jewelry.
For minor stains, take a clean microfiber cloth and wipe the surface of the stone.

It is prohibited to use household chemicals, acids, acetone, chlorine and other aggressive substances for cleaning. The same applies to compositions containing abrasive particles. They remove the pearlescent layer, after which the coating cannot be restored. If the contamination is significant, it is better to entrust the condition of your favorite jewelry to a professional craftsman.

Do you know how to properly care for pearl jewelry?

Not really

How to restore shine

Simple and effective techniques practiced at home will help bring sea stone back to life:

Place the jewelry in a clean cloth bag and cover the jewelry with salt, but do not mix the jewelry with the crystals. Wash the bag in clean warm water until the salt is completely dissolved. Air dry clean pearls.
To restore shine, use high quality, purified olive oil. Apply a few drops of the product to a cotton pad and wipe each pebble with it.
Place some velvet on a piece of velvet fabric. Place the decorations on the fabric and wrap them. Rub the jewelry gently, then remove any excess starch.

Important! Rinse accessories with stones with still mineral water. Components in tap water can spoil the mineral.

What and how to protect pearls from

Pearls are multi-layered but fragile stones saturated with moisture. Loss of water from a mineral leads to its delamination. Therefore, it is important to keep jewelry away from dry air and heat.

The beauty of the gem's shine is threatened by intense sunlight. Therefore, pearl threads and other jewelry should be protected from their influence. Store items in tightly closed boxes and try not to wear them in hot weather.

Proper and high-quality care for cultured pearls The fact that jewelry with cultured pearls...
Published by Valdaygold Monday, October 23, 2021

Protect minerals from any chemicals. If a small amount of an aggressive compound gets on your pearls, quickly wipe the surface of the gem with a dry microfiber cloth.

What and how to clean pearls

As jewelry is worn, the pearls and settings become dirty. There are simple ways to clean your jewelry.

General principles

They are used regardless of the type of pearl, frame material, degree of contamination:

use a soft cloth or sponge;
wash with filtered warm water (chlorinated or hot water will destroy the stones);
folk remedies such as ammonia, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and other aggressive and abrasive compounds are excluded;
dry at room temperature.

Washed jewelry is returned to the box after drying.

Methods and means of cleaning

You can clean pearls at home using manual means:

Baby soap or mild shampoo. Jewelry such as rings or earrings is dipped into the solution for a quarter of an hour, then wiped dry. Beads or bracelets are washed differently. Each pearl is wiped with a damp cotton swab. Soap residues are removed with a clean damp cloth. Dry on a soft cloth.
Potato starch. It is used in problematic cases when other methods have proven useless. The beads are wiped with a velvet cloth on which starch is poured. Excess moisture is removed from the dirt.
Special paste. Apply to soft fabric. Each bead is wiped and polished with a dry lint-free cloth.

The last method is the easiest and most reliable, but it is only applicable. The paste is not sold everywhere, and the method is not suitable for frequent use. The pearls will shine again, but the cleaning components of the paste will shorten their “life.”

Bringing back the shine

Jewelry with pearl inserts fades. Shine and shine are restored in several ways:

Olive oil. It is highly refined olive oil that is safe. A few drops are applied to a cotton swab, which is used to rub the pearls. Remaining oil is removed with a paper napkin.
Sunbathing. Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight is detrimental to pearls, but sessions for a couple of hours can whiten them. After the procedure, the beads are wrapped in cloth. Sometimes a series of sunbathing is required. It is important to monitor natural pearls to avoid overheating.
Sea water. Place it in a container with sea water for several hours. It is obtained by dissolving sea salt in water (from a supermarket or pharmacy). Any water, including tap water.

You can use a special paste, but this is a last resort, since it wears away the pearls.

How can you clean pearls yourself?

There are many ways to clean pearls without the help of professionals. The easiest way to do this at home is by using one of the following methods:

Jewelry paste. Apply the mixture to a clean, lint-free cloth and rub the beads. Then we take a clean cloth and sand the surfaces until they shine.
Shampoo solution. Prepare a weak soap solution, stir it, but do not beat it until it foams. Soak a cotton pad in the mixture and wipe the beads. When working with earrings and rings, it is allowed to soak the jewelry in the solution for several minutes. After this, we wipe and dry the accessories.
Olive oil. Take a cotton pad and drop a few drops of olive oil of the highest purity onto it. We wipe the pearls and then rub them with a paper napkin.
Potato starch. Fights stubborn stains. Pour the powder onto a piece of velvet, place pearls on it, and wrap it. We rub the products until they are completely clean, removing any remaining starch.

We recommend: How to grind bread and make breadcrumbs in 1 minute

The processing of pearls in gold and silver is particularly difficult. The main thing here is to prevent aggressive cleaning agents from getting on the beads. There are very few universal compositions and they are usually used by professionals, so in cases of persistent stains it is better to contact a jeweler.

How to wear pearls

Natural pearls become most dirty and deformed when they are used, that is, when they wear jewelry. It is useful to know how to wear jewelry correctly.

Pearls absorb various substances. Therefore, rule number one is to put on jewelry when cosmetics and perfumes have been applied and absorbed.
Pearls should not be worn on the beach or for a walk under the hot, blinding sun - they will crack.
The mineral does not like household chemicals or greasy fumes. Jewelry is removed for housework or cooking.
Chlorinated water is harmful to the material. Therefore, jewelry is not taken into the bathroom, swimming pool, or sauna.
It is better to wear pearl accessories on the body or delicate fabric such as silk. Friction against a fleecy or textured surface leads to abrasion of the mother of pearl.
After going out into the world, jewelry is removed first. Rinse with clean (preferably filtered) water to remove dust, cosmetic residues, and other microdirt. Wipe with a soft cloth and put into the box.
When removing a necklace or choker, grasp the metal clasp, not the beads.

In order for your favorite beads or other pearl beauty to remain “young” for a long time, it must be worn. Long confinement in a box will make it dull. And the skin moisture absorbed by the mineral adds radiance.

Special cases

Caring for pearls in some types of jewelry has nuances.

Framed products

Before cleaning, it is advisable to remove the pearls from the frame and clean the metal frame and beads separately. But this is not always possible.

Gold

Wash gold earrings or other jewelry with a solution of baby soap with a soft brush and dry. The metal is cleaned with a cotton swab soaked in cologne. Make sure that the product (or other special compounds for gold) does not come into contact with the pearls.

Silver

The decoration is washed with a weak solution of baby soap using a cotton swab or soft cloth. Pearls and silver do not like long baths, so the product is cleaned and rinsed quickly. Dry with a soft cloth.

For heavily darkened silver, a special procedure is performed. The decoration is placed in a bag or on ordinary fabric, the ends of which are tied with a knapsack. Sprinkle generously with salt and immerse in water. Rinse until the salt dissolves. The pearls shimmer again, the silver glitters.

Restoring mother of pearl

To avoid having to look for information on how to restore mother-of-pearl on pearls, periodically give your jewelry sea baths in moderately salty water. Do not keep items in a box for months. Legend has it that forgotten pearls die.

People often look for information on how to restore pearls if the top layer has worn off. Jewelers usually use a 5-6% solution of acetic and hydrochloric acid. The damaged shell dissolves in an acidic environment, revealing a new, shining layer underneath. Just do not overexpose the beads in the solution, otherwise the decoration will be damaged.

Beads and necklace

To properly care for your beads, you need to consider the following:

When purchasing, it is better to choose a product with beads separated by thread knots. This insulates each bead, reducing fraying.
The thread on which the pearls are collected gradually stretches and frays. Dirt accumulates between the beads, which can damage them from the inside. Therefore, the thread is changed after two to four years, depending on the degree of use.
When stringing beads onto a new thread, it is advisable to make knots between them, as on the old one. The best thread for pearls is silk. It is delicate, does not stretch well, and reluctantly absorbs foreign components.
The necklace or beads are stored and dried in a horizontal position so that the thread does not stretch.

If you are unsure of your abilities, entrust the necklace update to a master. Saving on precious natural pearls is inappropriate.