Pearls are softer than almost everything else you own.
They are about 2.5 to 4 on the Mohs scale, which puts them below a fingernail's worth of grit and well below every other gemstone in the box. Almost all pearl damage is avoidable and almost none of it is dramatic.
Everything that matters, in order of how much it matters.
Last on, first off
The oldest rule in the trade and still the best one. Perfume, hairspray, sunscreen and cosmetics are all mildly acidic and all dissolve nacre. Put pearls on after you are dressed and ready, and take them off before anything else.
Wipe them after wearing
A soft dry cloth, ten seconds, every time. Skin oils are not catastrophic but they accumulate in the drill holes and in the silk, and that is what turns a white strand grey over years. This one habit does more than anything else on this page.
Never in an ultrasonic, never in a steamer
Both will destroy a pearl — the ultrasonic shakes the nacre apart at the bead, the steamer cooks it. Any jeweller who puts your pearls in either is telling you something about their jeweller. Warm water, a drop of mild soap, a soft cloth. Dry flat.
Store flat, and not airtight
Hanging a strand stretches the silk. Store it lying down, in the pouch it came in, in a drawer rather than a sealed box — nacre holds a little water and a completely dry safe will eventually craze it. A safe deposit box is the worst place for pearls.
Keep them away from your other jewellery
Everything else in the box is harder than a pearl. A single diamond ring loose in the same compartment will scratch a strand in a week. Separate pouch, always.
Wear them
Genuinely. Pearls do better against skin than in a drawer — the small amount of moisture helps. A strand worn weekly for thirty years will look better than one worn twice and stored.
Restringing
Silk stretches, absorbs oil, and eventually goes grey and slack. A stretched strand is how pearls get lost, because the knots between them stop doing their job.
Every twelve to eighteen months if you wear them often; every few years if you do not. The tell is gapping — if you can see thread between the pearls when the strand hangs, it is overdue.
Restringing is free for life on anything bought here, including the silk, the French wire and the labour. It is $95 on a piece that was not, and we will grade it for you at the same time at no charge.
What actually damages them
| Perfume and hairspray | Etches nacre on contact. The single most common cause of dulling. |
|---|---|
| Chlorine and salt water | Take them off before swimming. Chlorine attacks both nacre and the silk. |
| Ultrasonic cleaners | Separates nacre from the bead. Irreversible. |
| Household cleaning products | Ammonia and bleach will strip the surface in minutes. |
| Dry heat | A sealed safe or a sunny windowsill will craze the nacre over years. |
| Other jewellery | Harder stones scratch pearls in ordinary handling. |
If something has already gone wrong
Send it in. Dulled nacre sometimes buffs back, worn pearls can be swapped out and matched against the originals, and a failing clasp is an hour's work. We assess free and tell you honestly when a piece is not worth saving, which does happen.