A few treatment questions

[Mostawesomecoffee]

I read the treatment primer on pearl treatments, and also checked out some outside sources. I have a few questions: Could a lab detect a dyed pearl? Is a dyed pearl weaker than a non-dyed pearl (i.e., will the dye destroy the pearl in time)?

Is color-lightening by exposure to sunlight considered an artificial treatment? Will such treatment weaken the pearl? Can this be lab detected?

In the primer, "cutting and working" are described as treatments. I don't know what is meant by this. I've heard of pearls having a "bad" area that is removed, thereby marring the surface of the pearl. This marred area is then hidden under within a setting, so when looking, it's not known that the hidden part of the pearl is damaged. Is this what is meant by "cutting and working"?
It seems like this would be easy enough to detect with an xray, right?

Thanks

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

There is no point in sending a cultured pearl to the lab, no less a dyed one.

Dye stains the outer layers only and the lining of the drilled hole of an otherwise white bead, which is most often observed with the naked eye.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I've never read anything to make me think that dyeing weakens or otherwise damages pearls.

Bleaching is a routine treatment for pearls. I've read on P-G that overbleaching can make them chalky-looking, but your own eyes would tell you to avoid a chalky looking pearl. No lab necessary for that. As far as bleaching in the sun, the photos I've seen show pearls in large jars in a bleaching solution, on shelves under lights, indoors. (Does any factory bleach pearls in the sun? Sounds inefficient.)

"Damage" implies that some harm came to the pearl after harvesting-- but blemishes occur naturally and are very common. The unblemished pearl is the exception, not the rule, and commands a higher price. Most strands have pearls with some minor blemishes.

If the pearl is perfect apart from one small blemish, that spot may be drilled, thereby removing the blemish. Some pearls are set in ways that conceal a blemish. A pearl with an odd shape may also be cut and then set. It's all okay, but a pearl that has been cut should not be sold as a whole round pearl.

Buy pearls from a reputable jeweler and you should not have to take them to be x-rayed. If it's estate jewelry and you want to know if the pearl is whole, then you may need to get it x-rayed. Or you could just enjoy it the way it is.

 

[Mostawesomecoffee]

Since bleaching is routine treatment, am I right to assume that a bleached pearl is no less valuable than an unbleached pearl? Also, is it pretty much a guarantee that ALL pearls sold have been bleached to some degree?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Pearls come in natural colors that are enjoyed by buyers, which are not bleached. FWP in particular come in many lovely shades of lavender, peach, gold etc. Akoyas come in a natural silvery blue. These are not bleached.

If you are buying white akoya or freshwater pearls, you should assume they have been bleached. That said, PP sells a line of naturally white (not bleached, not pinked) akoya strands that cost more than their bleached/pinked counterparts of the same high quality (hanadama.) I imagine the difference is price is because they come from a specific farm, there are fewer available, supply and demand etc.

I do not know whether white SSP are bleached. I'll look it up when time allows, unless someone else knows?

Edit: I found this thread from 2012 about SSP treatments:
https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6141

 

[BAS]

Wow, that two-year-old thread was a wild and bumpy ride, and fascinating! Jeremy, has anything changed in the past two years regarding how pearls are PRE treated and then treated, and the disclosure situation?