With proper care, your pearl and shell jewellery will keep the natural lustre and sheen that they have always had. Here are a few tips and ideas about the best ways to protect and prolong the life of your pearls, so they can shimmer and look gorgeous forever!
Pearls and mother of pearl are natural renewable resources which can be found or cultured in either sea water or rivers and fresh water.
Although pearls are relatively tough with around 2.5 on the Mohs gemstone harness scale (Mohs scale is a special measurement of the hardness of gems and natural stones) they are still a natural material so they can be relatively porous and soft and quite easily damaged if not treated with a little care.
- If you take care of your pearls with a little bit of love and attention, they can last a lifetime -
Different factors can affect the quality of your pearls and sometimes make them more fragile and prone to damage and defects.
Aging -
Like all of us! pearls are affected by their environment and the ageing process, drying out or damage to their lustre can occur from exposure to harsh chemicals, bleaching, sunlight and heat damage
Chemicals -
Also many of the products and chemicals we use in our daily lives can damage the lustre of natural pearls and sea shell jewellery. Common examples are bleaches, hairspray, blow drying and perfumes, In order to prolong the life and lustre of your pearl jewellery it is wise to prevent any exposure to these chemicals and avoid accidental damage.
Simple Rules -
Rule #1
A simple way is to make sure that you always put your jewellery on after you have finished getting ready, after washing, doing your hair and putting on perfume.
Rule #2 -
At the end of the day try to remember to remove your jewellery before using cleaning products, face creams and lotions.
Storage -
I would also recommend you take your pearls off to sleep and put them in an air tight container when you are not using them regularly. Taking care not to store them with other harder gemstones which could scratch the surface of the pearls.
Water Damage -
Although they come from the sea submerging them in water can also lead to damage so better not to go swimming in your pearl jewellery especially not in pools or spas which contain harsh chemicals and bleaches.
Cleaning -
If you want to clean your pearls just wipe them over with a soft cloth and remember if you are going to clean the metal parts of your pearl jewellery do this carefully with a soft cloth and a gentle cream cleaner avoiding touching the pearl part of your jewellery.
No Harsh Cleaning -
One last but important bit of advice is to never use cleaning dips or baths which contain very harsh chemicals to clean your pearl or sea shell jewellery!