How To Care For Your Precious Pearls

The earth has given Jewelers many materials to work with. We use gold, silver, diamonds, wood, gems and precious stones of all kinds. One Precious stone we love to work with is the Pearl.

A pearl is a delicate and beautiful, little, irritant. Irritating to the oyster that is (we love pearls). Typically when a pearl is made naturally, it starts with a little grain of sand. Somehow a grain of sand might get stuck inside of particular species of oyster. As a defense mechanism the oyster will start to secrete a fluid that hardens around the sand spec. After about 5-10 years, if the oyster was fortunate to live that long, it will have created a precious pearl.

Since Pearls are not created like many other precious gemstones, millions of years and thousands of pounds of pressure; they are often easier to damage than other stones. Due to the softer nature of Pearls, they are easier to scratch or be damaged in chemicals. If not cared for correctly, a pearl can quickly lose it’s luster or be lost forever.

Tricks and Techniques to care for your pearls:

Due to the nature of pearls you should always remove a pearl ring or bracelet when preparing food. Some foods contain acids that could eat away at your pearls. Also, if you are going to go swimming, we recommend removing your pearls so as not to be lost or damaged by the chlorine and chemicals in swimming pools.

If you have a pearl ring, we recommend you remove it by holding onto the band and not the pearl. The less contact made with the pearl the better, without being excessive. Remember, pearls are jewelry that was meant to be worn and loved on your body. After you remove your pearl jewelry it is always a good idea to wipe the pearl with a (wet or dry) soft cloth. Although your body oils can improve the look of your pearl you might not want the acid from your perspiration to remain on the pearl. If you perspire heavily, you may want to think of using different gems in your jewelry design.

If you have a string of pearls it is a good idea to get them restrung every 6 months. The worst pearl stories I hear are of women who lose half their pearls when their necklace breaks. A break can happen unexpectedly from tension, but it is best to try and prevent pearl loss from weak string.

Cleaning Pearl Jewelry:

As described above, Pearls are more delicate than other precious gems and so they take a different kind of care when cleaning them as well. Below I have created a little list that you may find useful when cleaning your pearl jewelry.

Wash hands before handling pearls to remove any perspiration
Never use chemicals on when cleaning jewelry. (chlorox, bleach, ammonia… etc.)
Clean your pearls with a mild soap.
Remove pearls when applying lotion or moisturizers.
wipe with a soft or damp cloth immediately after removal.
If soap and water do not clean your pearls to satisfaction, consider using a pearl cleaning solution.
Please, if you have any questions about pearls or pearl care do not hesitate to call us.

Wally Anderson

Wally Anderson is a business that is also owned by Associate Jewelers, Inc. and has been a valuable part of our success.

“Our 13 person team ships pendants, rings, and custom pieces to hundreds of fine jewelry stores around the country. The materials we use for all our jewelry are of the highest quality, hand-picked gems and purest metals we can buy. We are proud to offer what we feel is one of the finest collections of personal jewelry you can find.” -Wally Anderson Website

On this website you can find numerous pictures and descriptions of our designs. We have Pendants, Rings, Wildlife collection and more.

If you have any questions about how Wally Anderson relates to Associate Jewelers, send us a little email, or check back here on the blog soon.