[Ally1998]

My boyfriend bought a necklace of cultured pearls for me when he went to Beijing for a job assignment. When he gave them to me I thought they were very beautiful, but they did not look as shiny as other pearls my mom has.
Now the pearls are looking very bad. I think, after reading about pearls, it is because I was wearing perfume and lotion all the time. But don't most people? Why do they look so bad? They look like ugly fake pearls now.
Did I ruin my pearls? I called the jeweler and he said that they can clean them for me, but I tried to clean just one pearl to see if it would look better and it doesn't. What can I do? I think he will be really disappointed because now it just really looks like a string of beads. Oh well, he is a man so maybe he will not notice;-)

[jshepherd]

I am very sorry to tell you this, but from the sound of it there is nothing you can do.

This is actually a very common problem. I would venture to guess that your boyfriend bought the necklace at the Hongqiao pearl market in Beijing. This is a good place to buy medium-quality freshwater pearls, but it sounds as though your boyfriend bought an Akoya strand. Quality Akoya pearl necklaces are almost non-existent at this market. A few of the vendors travel to South China to buy pearls at some of the markets there, but they never buy the high-end pieces. These pearls have typically been cultured for a mere 4-6 months, and the nacre is extremely thin. They may look OK for a few months, but will erode over time. Thin nacre is very prone to peeling and cracking. It dries out very quickly as well.

The only thing I can suggest is wiping the pearls with a moist cloth every day for a few weeks. It is possible to infuse moisture into the nacre of the pearls, but it will not probably make a huge difference. I would strongly advise against attempting to clean the pearls. This may finish them off completely.

I am sorry I did not have better news for you. Let us know if you have any other questions.

[TievoliJewelry]

I have seen this before too. There is a dealer of pearls like this in our same building. Customers ask sometimes why their pearls are so much cheaper. I just tell them to take a look at ours, and go back and take a look at the others. The nacre is so thin a lot of them look like beads! These are the same pearls that look just like beads that are sold at the shows for $15-$20 a strand. They seem to last 2-3 months of constant wear.