Home remedy for Bleaching pearls?

[Ash]

Originally Posted under the "Sunday" thread originally but moved it here maybe someone will have an Idea

Thought this was coverd this but I am not finding anything at 2:30 am so Ihope noone minds a new thread. I just hope I make sense.

This may be a longshot but I wanted to sk teh best resource of people I know.

This is actually an inquiry for another person from another list I am on.

Does anyone have any Ideas for a home rememdy for Bleaching seed pearls? Other than the "sun bleach" method? Some things that came up on another list are:

Household bleach
Peroxide
Toothpaste the kind with whitening solutions.

and these all sound like BAD Ideas to me.

Does anyone have good ideas that will work. Or a recipe for a "whitening mix" they are willing to share?

I feel so out of my element asking like this Have not done any whitening only attempts at "nautral dyeing"

It is a necklace of "seed pearls", they look old to her eyes, it was a necklace that was purchased for cheap. for a specific project. Wants them "whiter". Was suggested she buy seed pearls but she is on a budget.

Do not know if they have been bleached before.
Do not know if they are natural or cultured.
Do not know if these are teh natural color.
Do not know if this is the result of ageing (only suspect)

Sorry, it is not much to go on. but its what I have and want to help her if I can.

Thank you all in advance.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Cheers
Ashby

[pearlescence]

Unless these are very special pearls it seems to me that she is likely to spend more on the whitening than she would on a string of new potatoes or the like....
are we sure they are even real pearls - lots of old discoloured pearls are in fact fake pearls

[pattye]

Here's the link to some old posts on the subject

How do you bleach a f/w pearl?

[knotty panda]

If you're afraid of HP, I'm not sure I'd try toothpaste, then. In the states, HP is fairly common whereas other countries won't allow it. Haven't tried this myself, but, I use Cream of Tartar as a tooth whitener. Just sprinkle it on the toothbrush. Perhaps a paste of the same smeared on the pearls with the ultraviolet light would do the trick. Keep them in a plastic bag to keep the paste from drying out.

[Ash]

Thanks for the link. thought we had something here. It was a bad night had some bad news just before I went to bed. from a couple friends and brain was mush at best this AM.


Thanks again everyone.. Hope everyone is having a good Monday. Got sleep, brain not mush now. Sun is shinning, Life is good!

cheers
Ash