Will freshadamas maintain their freshadama look 20 years from now?

[Amylovespearls]

I know that hanadamas will probably not maintain their beautiful qualities due to the thin nacre, etc. And I recently purchased freshadama from PP, and they are lovely and beautiful. But, I am curious to know if freshadamas (or just high quality freshwater pearls) will maintain their freshadama luster/orient 10 and then 20 years from now? In general, do freshwater pearls maintain their quality and luster 20+ years from now if they are worn often (3-4x/week) and are well taken care of?

Thank you!

 

[pattye]

Hanadamas should indeed maintain their beautiful qualities (if cared for properly) because they DO have very thick nacre for akoyas. It's the akoyas with paper thin nacre that gives cause for concern. Buying akoyas from reputable sources is your best assurance of owning pearls of true and lasting quality and educating yourself about pearls so you can recognize the difference.

Although I have no freshadama pearls, I do have some very nice freshwaters, and haven't noticed any loss of luster, though I don't wear them 3-4x weekly. Nor have I ever read anything in my pearl studies that indicates the quality of a freshwater pearl necklace could be expected to decline significantly over time. Large ROUND high quality cultured freshwater pearls have been available for slightly less than 20 years, I'm estimating, not nearly as long as akoya pearls.

Looking forward to hearing other opinions on this subject.

 

[pearlescence]

HM The Queen still wears the three strand pearls given to her on her 21st birthday. They look good to me and she wears them very often

 

[Amylovespearls]

Thank you Pattye and pearlescence for your responses. To me, the issue with akoyas (including hanadamas) is that they are bead nucleated. The hanadama strand I purchased from PP had an average of 0.45 mm of nacre according to the certificate. Looking at a ruler, 0.45 mm is not very thick. To me, I would imagine that despite 0.45 mm being considered thick among akoyas, it is still not 'thick' to me. And I could imagine that with regular use, it would loose some of its nacre overtime, thus loosing it's hanadama quality (I believe the qualification for nacre thickness for hanadama is >0.4 mm). That being said, the natural white hanadama strand I purchased from PP was very beautiful. I was very tempted to keep it but, but alas I couldn't justify to myself to purchase pearls that were only 0.45 mm thick no matter how beautiful. :-(

But I am happy to hear that your freshwater pearls have not lost it's luster since you purchased them. I look forward to hearing more opinions on how well freshwater pearls age overtime. Thank you in advance for your responses. :-D

 

[pearlescence]

Nacre is quite tough. As far as I know 0.45mm will see you out and then some.
HM The Queen's pearls are not akoya. Not likely she would be given akoya is it, only a few years after WW2?

 

[GemGeek]

Freshwater pearls offer so many options now, that you shouldn't feel like you have missed out. On the other hand, I love my natural white hanadama pearls. Even when I don't wear them, I enjoy looking at them.

 

[JerseyPearl]

Nacre is quite tough. As far as I know 0.45mm will see you out and then some.
HM The Queen's pearls are not akoya. Not likely she would be given akoya is it, only a few years after WW2?

I had that very same thought...I am going to bet the Queen's pearls are all natural, although I have absolutely no basis for that claim...other than she is the Queen.