Tips to keep your pearls like your teeth...pearly white!

Image by: Mikimoto

Hello everyone,

Thank you all for the great comments. Without you, the reader, this blog would be pointless. Many of the comments posted were regarding pearls and proper care of pearls. So...I will touch upon the proper care of pearls and explain in more depth in future posts.

In may ways, pearls are like our teeth. Located in a living organism...check...wear down over time...check...can be damaged by improper care...check. Pearls are organic gems that are formed when the oyster has detected a foreign object inside its shell and secretes nacre over the object to protect itself. These layers create a calcium carbonate coating that is much like our teeth.

This coating creates the beloved iridescent finish, and it can appear white, pink, grey, and black to mention a few. Most fancy colors of pearls like the rich greens and blues are going to be due to a process of dying the pearl. With proper care, the pearls should last generations.

Pearls are susceptible to damage from acids, perfumes, hair spray (not the movie), and other metal jewelry. The best practice to care for pearls is to put them on last before going out and remove them first when arriving back home. After use, it's best to wipe them with a damp cloth and leave them out to dry overnight. This allows the acids and perfumes from our body to be removed when wiped and the silk to dry overnight. Also, annual inspection of the pearls and silk strand by your local jeweler (or me) is highly recommended to help ensure the strand is in good order.

Thanks again for all of your great comments so far and words of encouragement. The more input by you the better the blog will become. Like I say, there is no stupid questions, just stupid people! I believe in you!

Thanks for tuning in,

Amir Chokr Gemologist (GIA)