[Caitlin]

Longevity of freshwater pearls.
I think it is the duke of Norfolk that still has a FW strand from the first Queen Mary. It is from the river Tay in Scotland. It is in perfect condition after 400 years. It is in one of those traveling shows and we have put up pictures of it here before.

In general, I do not think a distinction was made between sea water and freshwater pearls in the heyday of natural pearls, both were used and reused over the decades, even centuries, and most of them in the Book of the Pearl by Kunz (1908) are still being restrung and worn. That book has literally hundreds of people wearing piles and piles of pearls. By the 19th century, it looked like all the royality and nobility were saturated with pearls and wore them lavishly for photographs. That book is hard to find and expensive, even though it is a Dover book, but the entire book is online- I am sure there is a link in the Pearl Book and Resources section.

I think the black dye in CFWP was not as good ten years ago, (and neither was the quality of the pearls) but I only have those rice krispie looking pearls from that far back- none of which I have worn every day, none of which are black either. They are shiny metallic colors, bronze, gold, silver.

I do have some white pearls from Pattye that have chips missing from the surface. The nacre showing through the chips is just as shiny as the parts that aren't chipped.

So even though CFWP of good-to-great quality are still youing, a look at history tells us something about the longevity of solid nacre pearls.

[Valeria101]

Does UV bleach and/or dull pearls?

There's this one rumor I've picked up about pearls (the source was an old book abut jewelry and pearls, the title escapes) - that they change somewhat with the first exposure to sunlight.

Any truth in it?

I can't test it, since there's no way to get pearls fresh out of water, LOL!

The idea to get a few on a tanning bed sounds a tad wacky to try...

[Pearlgully]

I have read that sunlight does effect the natural colored pastel CFWP. I don't think that is a rumor at all. I am sure that I read this in a book but off the top of my head I can't remember which one. I think that significant exposure to sunlight can lighten the color. I am going to look though my books to see where I read this. I have not read anything regarding the first exposure to sunlight.


Gail

[pattye]

I would think if there were any rapid or extreme color change our pearls would have to come with a disclaimer!!!! And that information would be much more openly discussed and available that it currently is.

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

[Pearl_dreams]

Originally Posted by Pearlgully

I have read that sunlight does effect the natural colored pastel CFWP. I don't think that is a rumor at all. I am sure that I read this in a book but off the top of my head I can't remember which one. I think that significant exposure to sunlight can lighten the color. I am going to look though my books to see where I read this. I have not read anything regarding the first exposure to sunlight.


Gail

The only pearl that I've read is lightened by daylight is the conch pearl (and maybe that applies to the Melo melo as well?). Perhaps you are remembering having read this?

[Pearlgully]

Originally Posted by Pearl_dreams

The only pearl that I've read is lightened by daylight is the conch pearl (and maybe that applies to the Melo melo as well?). Perhaps you are remembering having read this?

Nope! My memory is about sunlight and CFWP. I am going through some books that I would have read when I first became interested in pearls. I'll keep you posted and let you know what I find.


Gail

[DFrey]

Last summer I had a large number of untreated slightly peach colored baroque freahwaters that I wanted to see if sunlight would whiten. I left these pearls out in the direct sunlight all day for 4-5 days. My experiment showed that if the pearls whitened it was a very slight change. The exposure to sunlight did not effect the lustre or surface of the pearls at all. My conclusion was that if the sun was going to " bleach" these pearls it was going to take a lot longer than what i was willing to give it.
DFrey

[Pearlgully]

While continuing to research what I said about the effect of sunlight (post 18 & 21) , I came across something about olive oil in the Elizabeth Strack book "Pearls"; page 667, 1st. paragraph, ...."Every two or three years, the pearls should be carefully treated with olive oil in order to help preserve their luster and appearance."


Gail

[Heidi]

I have a pair of white FW baroque stud earrings and a matching 16" strand of FW keishis that my grandmother had a jeweler put together for my 16th birthday. That was a long time ago and I have utterly abused these pearls...wearing them for days without taking them off, etc.. They still have an amazing luster and the orient is still there. They have probably lost a little of their luster but it's a minimal change. The keishiness of them helps to disguise any blemishes, I've noticed.

For maintenance I have had the pearls restrung a few times (they need it again). I keep them either in an enamel box with a loose lid or in the bathroom on a shelf; I wipe them off from time to time with a damp cotton ball if any gunk seems to be building up. Now I treat my pearls a little better than when I was 16.

[nlerner]

I bought my 6.5 - 7mm akoya 42 years ago. They look splendid.
I used to wear them very often with jeans or formal dress.
For years they were my preferred jewelry.
They were restrung a few times and always cleaned with a damp cotton cloth after use. Maybe the color has changed a bit and they became more creamy, but the luster remained as it was. I"ll try to take photos tomorrow and post them.

[Pearl_dreams]

No doubt Akoyas 42 years ago were being kept in the water longer than they are today, and have a thicker nacre as a result. I doubt Akoyas being sold now will last so long. Maybe the newer Vietnamese ones...

I've been thinking of buying the Strack book, but I'm wondering how long ago it was written and whether there are plans to update it. What is the copyright date, please?

[Caitlin]

I have read that sunlight does effect the natural colored pastel CFWP

I have read that sunlight has been used as a bleaching agent for centuries- until they invented the H2O2 mix with heat (and ultra violet light?) they use now. But I think they were talking about white pearls. I have worn my deep lavender exotic for about 3 years. I have thought about fading, but not seen any yet. I would not wear them while sunbathing, though. I take them off and wipe them when I get sweaty- which is about from May-October in Tucson, if you spend even two minutes outside.

My mother-in-law's pearls, which I have mentioned numerous times here, were all akoyas from the 30's and 40's. My daughter inherited one of them about two years ago. It has wear around the holes on every single pearl, some of the pearls have chunks of nacre worn off. The 14k clasp with a ppb nacre pearl in it is completely worn off. That was the heyday of thick skinned nacre too. She wore pearls every single day of her life. Usually ropes and ropes of them. So it looks like pearls from the 60's are holding still, but 60-70 years of wear does them in. The new akoya stand has much thinner nacre, with a few exceptions, and they are highly processed. So no wonder they don't last as long. On the other hand my grandmother's natural Bahraini pearls from the 30's and 40's have shown no signs of wear whatsoever.

I think oils that are absorbed by skin like olive-even jojoba (though Raison disputed that that quite well) are OK to use, even if slightly acidic. Maybe the oil does clean up the surface a little, removing loose platelets or something. Oil is a commonly used and I think it has been for years, if not centuries. That doesn't mean it is the best thing though. Maybe it does- because it has been around so long and so many natural pearls have also been around for centuries.

[Caitlin]

I've been thinking of buying the Strack book, but I'm wondering how long ago it was written and whether there are plans to update it. What is the copyright date, please?

The English copyright is 2006 and it was updated from the German 2002 first edition. About $130.00 including shipping. Maybe a little less from the GIA?

Even though there are errors in details, the book itself is the best book on pearls ever published.

Strack has been updating since the first edition, so the first English one is etter. She says parts of it are out of date even before it hits the press, so I am sure she is working on a new edition, but when? I think several years in the future.

[Pearl_dreams]

Thanks, Caitlin. I don't know why I had the impression that it was an older book.

[Pearlgully]

Originally Posted by Pearlgully

Nope! My memory is about sunlight and CFWP. I am going through some books that I would have read when I first became interested in pearls. I'll keep you posted and let you know what I find.

I FOUND IT (Finally)! I knew I read about this somewhere. In the book by Richard Wise, "Secrets of the Gem Trade". In the section on freshwater pearls from China,......."Natural color Chinese freshwater pearls should be stored in a darkened environment in order to preserve the natural pastel color, since they may fade with long exposure to sunlight." (Keywords being "may" & "long".)
Since I am not home now and don't have my copy of the book with me, I am unable to reference the page number at this time, but I googled "the effect of sunlight on pastel colored freshwater pearls" and the Ganoksin website came up with an excerpt from Richard's book.

Gail