Pearl Care

Pearls are particularly susceptible to damage and neglect due to their soft, fragile nature. Regular care and maintenance of your fine pearl jewelry is essential to ensuring your precious jewels lasts a lifetime.


DAILY CARE OF YOUR PEARLS

Because pearls are natural, organic gems, they are understandably susceptible to everyday acids and bases, and environmental changes, such as humidity levels. Common household items, such as hair sprays and perfumes which contain a number of harmful acids including alcohol, should be avoided when wearing your pearls.

Even bodily perspiration can affect the beauty and luster of pearl jewelry. Always remember to clean your pearl jewelry with a soft, damp (but not wet) cloth after every use. In the event that perfume, etc. accumulated on your pearl jewelry, a gentle soap may be used for cleaning.

After wearing your pearls, simply use a soft, slightly damp, cotton or chamois cloth to wipe them clean. This simple step will help curb dirt from gathering along the pearls lustrous nacre.

If your pearls have not been cleaned regularly and are excessively dirty, we recommend taking them to your local jeweler for a professional cleaning. We do not recommend cleaning your pearls with harsh, household cleaners; even liquid dishwashing soaps can scratch your pearls.

The fine silk thread used to string pearl jewelry together can easily be damaged if submerged in water. Also, your pearls should not be exposed to direct sunlight or high temperatures in general.

Note that pearls rank quite low on the Mohs hardness scale; a scale used by jewelers and gemologists to determine the overall hardness of gemstones. This is an indication that your pearl jewelry can easily be scratched when in contact with other jewelry such as gold or diamond.

Do's:

Only use jewelry cleaner that is specifically labeled as safe for cleaning pearls.

Always allow pearls to dry after they have become wet. Wet or damp strings can easily stretch or break.

Remove your pearls when showering / swimming; putting on make-up, hair spray or perfume.

Restring your pearls once a year to ensure the string remains sturdy and strong.

Don't:

Use harsh, abrasive cleaning agents such as bleaches, powered cleaners, ammonia-based cleaners, such as Windex.

Clean your pearls with ultrasonic cleaner.

Steam clean your pearls.

Wear pearls with rough clothing fabric, such as wool.

Hang your pearls to dry.

PEARL STORAGE

Always remember to store your pearls in a soft, jewelry box with separate compartments for each piece of jewelry. This will ensure that your pearl jewelry will not be scratched or damaged by the other types of jewelry mentioned above.

Do not store your pearl jewelry in a security/safe box for too long, as these boxes can damage your pearls through dehydration.