Using Olive Oil on White Pearls

[tyren]

I'm almost embarrased to ask cos this may be a completely dumb question, but can using olive oil on white pearls make them green?

I read somewhere here that olive oil can be rubbed into pearls to keep them lustrous, but I've also read that olive oil contains a fair amount of chlorophyll. Given that nacre is an organic material, is there a chance that the cholorphyll may be absorbed by the nacre to the extent that the nacre may start appearing green?

[Pearl Dreams]

Olive oil is acidic, and personally I would not want to be rubbing acidic substances on my pearls.

The potential for coloring them green is very secondary for me, but why risk it? In addition, it would be easy to accidentally get some oil on the thread, which would stain.
The oil would make the thread pick up dirt faster, too.

Just wear them, and wipe them afterward with a clean soft cloth, such as fine microfiber. That helps keep them lustrous.

[pattye]

No, please don't do that. Olive oil gets rancid and your pearls and the silk they are strung on will S.T.I.N.K. There are lots of suggestions for carefully cleaning your pearls under this topic. Storing your pearls separately so they don't get scratched and occasional gentle cleaning will go a long way to keep them as lustrous as they were when new.

It's an interesting question~whether olive oil could turn a pearl green, maybe someone here will try it.

[jshepherd]

Ha! Why not! It sounds like a fun experiment. I have a box of what is referred to in China as 'raw material' that we could try it on. Every year there is a Buddhist temple that orders a few kilos of round freshwater pearls from us, but for religious reasons they have to be straight out of the shell. Last year we accidentally brought in an extra kilo. We gave some to Elizabeth Strack for experiments, but have quite a bit left.

[Pearl Dreams]

But as those are straight out of the shell, Jeremy, would they not be less porous than the white pearls we buy, which have been bleached? I'm wondering whether bleached pearls would absorb more.

Hmm...I have some lower quality white CFWP, loose, that I haven't done anything with. These would have been bleached. I will try the experiment on one of the pearls. In fact, I'll leave it soaking in extra virgin olive oil (which has lower acidity than poorer quality oil, but is greener) for a couple of weeks --checking daily-- and see if it becomes greener. And what happens to the luster. Photo before and after.

[jshepherd]

I don't think the pearls would become more porous after treatment. In fact, I would think the opposite to be true.

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Use some heat. That should accelerate the process. Don't fry it though, haha. You could probably go upwards of 70-80 C without markedly changing the structure of the pearl.

I have some liquid chlorophyl in the lab on Clayoquot Island. It's medicinal grade and requires refrigeration, so it's probably suspended in water.

I'll try a few experiments too.

[Pearl Dreams]

I don't think the pearls would become more porous after treatment. In fact, I would think the opposite to be true.

Interesting! Well, then I will leave the experiment to you.

[Caitlin]

I will enjoy the results of the observations, though I am willing to bet amount of the chlorophyll in the EEOO will not penetrate the pearls. Whether stronger concentrations in oil and/or water medium is interesting.

While some treatments could make the pearls less porous, I would need some strong proof to overcome my belief that bleach would affect the porosity of pearls because my experience is that- that is exactly what bleach does to hair, cloth, tooth enamel, and suchlike.

[Amanda]

You can use olive oil to clean Roman coins. If you have coins with a couple of thousand years' worth of dirt and general grunge on them, soaking them in olive oil for 6 to 18 months helps get it off without ruining the coins.

[lisa c]

Would mineral oil serve the same coin-cleaning purpose?

[tyren]

Hee... It's kinda cool that a silly question like mine has sparked off a couple of scientific pursuits. I think I'll go and "fry" some cfwps in extra virgin olive oil as well. Depending on the results, we may have to lobby for a warning label to be put on olive oil bottles to the effect "do not use on white pearls if you don't want them to turn green".

[Amanda]

Would mineral oil serve the same coin-cleaning purpose?

I don't know. At the risk of sounding thick, I'm not sure what mineral oil actually is.

[jshepherd]

A quick update; I've got a small lot of pearls sitting in olive oil and another in vinegar sitting on the windowsill.

[lisa c]

I don't know what to call it except baby oil without perfume.