How to Care for Pearls
You take off your pearl necklace at the end of a warm day and the surface feels slightly tacky. That's sweat and skin oil sitting on the nacre, the lustrous coating that gives a pearl its glow.
The good news is that it takes about ten seconds to deal with. Here's how to keep your pearls looking their best, wear after wear.
The One Habit That Matters Most: Wipe Them Down
The secret to keeping pearls beautiful is refreshingly unglamorous — wipe them every single time you take them off.
A pearl is mostly calcium carbonate, which leaves it vulnerable to acid, heat, and water in a way harder gemstones aren't. Sweat left sitting on the surface dulls the luster (that mirror-like glow that makes a pearl a pearl) and can eventually cause discoloration.
For everyday wear, one quick pass over the whole piece is enough. If you've been sweating, or you can see marks on the surface, go pearl by pearl and work each one gently between the cloth.
A pearl polishing cloth is ideal, but any microfiber cloth, like the kind that comes with a pair of glasses, will do the job. Skip tissues: they can scratch the nacre. Skip moisturizing tissues in particular, since the lotion in them leaves residue behind.
We don't recommend rinsing pearls under water either. Every pearl on a strand is drilled, and water finds its way in through the drill hole, where it can affect the pearl from the inside and take the luster down with it. If something won't lift with a dry cloth, use a well-wrung damp one instead.
This goes for every type of pearl. Freshwater pearls have a reputation for holding up better against sweat, but they want exactly the same routine. Wipe them well and they'll stay beautiful for decades.
How to Wipe a Pearl Necklace
A few things worth keeping in mind:
- Don't pull on the strand. The silk thread or wire running through it can stretch or snap.
- Don't be too delicate with the pearls themselves. A light stroke won't lift much — firm, deliberate pressure is fine.
- The metal matters too. Clasps and earring posts degrade over the years if they're never cleaned, so give them the same quick wipe.
- If the thread starts to feel loose or stretched, have the piece restrung sooner rather than later. If you bought it from us, just get in touch.
What Pearls Don't Get Along With
Sunscreen is non-negotiable, and it also happens to be no friend to pearls. The answer isn't to skip it — just put your jewelry on after it's absorbed.
Same goes for makeup, hairspray, and perfume. Make your pearls the last thing you put on and the first thing you take off, and you've avoided most of the problem before it starts.
Here's what to keep away from them.
Avoid — acidic enough to dissolve nacre
- Food & drink: fruit juice, fresh fruit, mayonnaise, salad dressing, vinegar
- Cleaning: bleach, bathroom and toilet cleaners
- Health & beauty: acidic or alkaline solutions, nail polish, nail polish remover,
- hairspray
- Household: markers, ink, ink remover
Use caution — may stain or discolor
- Food & drink: coffee, tea, alcohol, soy sauce, miso, cooking oil, water
- Cleaning: laundry starch, dish soap
- Health & beauty: benzine, rubbing alcohol, mouthwash, sunscreen
- Household: kerosene, petroleum products, paint, swimming pools
