Oh Pattye, just found this site---it gives you instructions on "exorcism level" cleansing of crystals and how to smudge. Pearls are a conglomeration of some mighty fine aragonite crystals so this should be relevant...

http://www.crystaltiger.com/sa02005.html

"You don't really need to soak your crystals very long in salt water. A minimum of 7 hours is usually all that is needed unless you have crystals that are extremely toxic for some reason. When I do some really, really heavy clearing with clients (exorcism level), I will soak the crystals is heavily saturated salt water for 3-4 days or longer. However, in normal daily wearing of crystals, a light short 7 hour bath every 2 weeks or so is fine. Get a plastic bowl large enough to hold your crystal(s). Glass is fine but it is a hard surface and you could chip your crystals easily if not careful. Fill the bowl with water to cover the crystals by about 1 inch. Room temerature water is fine and it would be best to have spring water whch is "alive" with nutrients that crystals like. For more refined energies, use distilled water. It doesn't matter to the crystal unless you go back and forth between extremes of very hot and very cold (even Pyrex has a maxium tolerance). Then, for each crystal, add 1 tablespoon of salt as a rough guideline. The "perfect" cleansing solution is a 30% solution of sea salt and spring water. If you have genuine sea water, use that ! As a intuitive, I usually just throw a handful of salt over the crystals and just leave the bucket in the sun to soak."

Slraep