Care for your Cultured Pearls

 

Cultured pearls are precious jewels and should be treated as such. They’re also the products of living creatures. Cultured pearls are formed when an irritant is introduced into a mollusk. The mollusk secretes a substance called nacre, which covers the irritant and produces the pearl. Nacre gives pearls the rainbow of colors and luster that makes these gemstones so treasured, but its delicate nature also makes pearls particularly susceptible to damage. For this reason you should be extra careful with your cultured pearl jewelry.
Apply cosmetics, hair spray and perfume before putting on any pearl jewelry. When you remove the jewelry, wipe it carefully with a soft cloth to remove any traces of these substances.
You can also wash your pearl jewelry with mild soap and water. Do not clean cultured pearls with any chemicals, abrasives or solvents. These substances can damage your pearls.
Do not toss your cultured pearl jewelry carelessly into a purse, bag, or jewelry box. A pearl’s surface is soft and can be scratched by hard metal edges or by the harder gemstones of other jewelry pieces.
Place cultured pearl jewelry in a chamois bag or wrap them in tissue when putting them away.
Cosmetics, perspiration, oils and ordinary wear weakens and stretches the threads on which the pearls are strung. Bring your pearls back to your jeweler for restringing once a year. Always have them knotted between pearls to help prevent loss of pearls it the string breaks.