sterling silver jewelry

The pearl forms around some type of foreign object inside the oyster shell. In cultured pearls, the object is a bead of mother of pearl (pearl shell) placed into the oyster by pearl farmers. Seeing the object as an irritation, the oyster covers the object with layer and layer of a material called nacre. This is essentially the same material making the shiny and lustrous lining of the shell.

Pearl nacre is made of aragonite, a type of calcium carbonate. A sort of "pearl glue" holds together microscopic plates of aragonite. As long as the oyster is healthy, the nacre forms and becomes thick over the core, developing the luster and shine we recognize as a pearl.

Why all of that information? There is one reason: aragonite or calcium carbonate. This is the substance of the pearl, the nacre. This material is soft compared to earth formed gemstones. This material is easily damaged by acids, certain chemicals and abrasive substances. The general cleaning methods used for mineral gemstones cannot be safely used to clean the tarnished metal and pearls at the same time. Where a simple gold item may be placed into a mild acid to remove tarnish and buffed to restore shine, that same mild acid will etch the pearl and can actually dissolve it.

"What to avoid when cleaning pearl jewelry?" As important as how to clean the jewelry is knowing what "NOT" to use as a cleanser. Commercial jewelry cleaning liquids are too strong for pearls. Most of these cleaners contain ammonia and ammonia can damage the pearl, reducing the luster. Jewelry cleaners are pretty much ineffective in removing tarnish and are designed to free up and remove dirt and grime more than remove tarnish.

Avoid any cleanser with ammonia, chlorine or abrasives added. Avoid jewelry or silver polishing cloths with a red rouge layer. The rouge is a polishing compound but the red material(iron oxide) can easily get lodged in unseen recesses of a pearl and make the pearl unsightly.
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