My Eclipse pearls faded.

[BWeaves]

I saw a gorgeous purple Edison strand recently and was considering buying it, but then I saw this thread and backed out. Always finding useful information in Pearl Guide!

I have heard from Yens that the pearl farmers have fixed the fading problem. They are using older mollusks now, and doing minimal if no processing on the pearls after harvest. There's no way of knowing if every farm has changed to the new process. There's no way for you to know if you're getting pearls from the new process or the old process. And, I don't know how long they've been doing the new process, so maybe they just take longer to fade now? Or maybe they don't fade now? I don't want to be the one to find out.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

I have heard from Yens that the pearl farmers have fixed the fading problem. They are using older mollusks now, and doing minimal if no processing on the pearls after harvest.

I'm not sure this is a fix insomuch as a countermeasure because fading takes a long time. Older mollusks produce slightly thicker nacre so it stands to reason this would be a good first approach to the problem. Likewise, discontinuing post harvest treatments are also a good measure.

Fading is a natural problem, it's not borne of pearl culture. Purple pearls are formed by the thinnest mantles, where tabular orientation of crystals are nearest to zero degrees. It's the least amount of surface aragonite stabilizing the underlying prismatic layers of calcite. Colour does not fade insomuch as being occluded by reverted calcite, too near to the surface.

Time will tell.