Mineral oil and pearls

[smetzler]

In a recent discussion with Douglas of Cortez Pearls mineral oil came up as a great means of cleaning and refreshing the luster of pearls. In his case, removing the extrapallial haze of newly-harvested pearls, as well as keeping and restoring older pearls to their highest luster.

Seems to me that mineral oil would also be an excellent material for removing glue. Perhaps someone has tried it?

Steve,
Where did you get the mineral oil? Can you share the specifics? Thanks.

In the laxative department at Walgreen's.

[CLICLASP]

So you mean parafine? Which type of mineral oil? white petroleum?
And why mineral, why not - lets' say - jojoba oil?
What is more specific for pearls in mineral oils?

(the oysters too were curious, said Alice)

[smetzler]

Douglas/Cortez Pearls would need to answer, but he did mention something about mineral oil having similar characteristics to some sort of rendered animal fat associated with a particular organ of the cow and that was historically used for cleaning and preserving in the Mexican pearl industry.

[Caitlin]

I missed that remark, but I think Mexican-stylee is usually just right.

[smetzler]

Caitlin, Douglas spoke about this while we were in the parking lot waiting for Jeremy on Sunday, it wasn't part of his presentation.

[CortezPearls]

Steve is right about that. I mentioned Manuel de Ocio's recipe for cleaning pearls: "oil" obtained from bovine kidney fat. I have mentioned it before on the forum I believe...

But mineral oil is basically white petroleum: click here for info.

Mind you all: Mineral Oil should not be used sparingly but carefully. It is a way to "liven up" MOP shell that seems lackluster due to age and dehydration. We use it to clean the protein residue of pearls just after harvest (instead of the usual salt polishing).

If used for long periods it may actually harm your pearls. Too much of a good thing -as always- will not be good for you.

[smetzler]

Wikipedia is great. So many uses for mineral oil, including:

Fire performance

Mineral oil is a fuel used by professional firespinners and firebreathers. It is chosen for its high flashpoint and low burning temperature. As a firebreathing fuel it is ideal because it will not tend to burn as a liquid, due to the high flashpoint, thus preventing blowback. However, due to the risk of aspiration of mineral oil and resulting lung damage, this use is considered a health hazard and discouraged.

[CLICLASP]

Ah interesting,
so would you advise to use such white petroleum for pearls which would have lost some luster, just to recover initial shine, not for using all the time?

[smetzler]

When Douglas mentioned this to me, my primary interest was in thorough cleaning of new pearls to be completely sure they were free of 'extrapallial haze.' I had received a new lot of Tridacna pearls that had not been subjected to final cleaning or polishing and needed to ascertain their potential. Having seen under SEM what even minor cloth polishing can do to certain pearls, non-abrasive treatment was my objective.

Last evening, prior to Douglas's caution about overuse, I did have nightmares about waking up to find my pearls in various stages of disintegration. They have now been double wiped, and I am quite confident that they are clean…

[CortezPearls]

Dear God Steve! No, I would have never recommended this oil for your pearls if I knew it was destructive... but we have done experiments (we can never have enough experiments you know...) and we've seen that pearls "weaken" after several months (3-7) of immersion in oil. Wish I knew exactly what takes place but I need sophisticated lab tools for this.

So, once more I only recommend a few hours of use at the most, minutes for slightly dehydrated pearls or shells. As always: better to be safe than sorry

[CLICLASP]

..........cleaning and refreshing the luster of pearls
......... keeping and restoring older pearls to their highest luster.

I have some natural pearls I was stupid enough to wash my hands with and they lost their luster !
So I gently put parafine oil all over with my finger, and after 15 minutes wipe it off, and days after, they still "hold" the luster, that they did not with olive oil !
Same I did with dull coral beads, and it works !!

Thanks Douglas