Pearl

Take good care…

Pearls require special care and attention.  Pearls are organic and are relatively soft so they need extra special protection from scratching. Pearls should be stored in their original box to avoid them being damaged by other items. Avoid wearing pearl rings every day due to their soft nature.
When caring for your pearls, never use any cleaning products unless they are specifically designed for cleaning pearls.

Try to avoid…

Always apply your perfume, moisturizers, hair fixers and such like before putting on your pearl jewellery as pearls can be damaged by such acidic products and this could lead to the stone losing its iridescence.  It is advised to gently wipe the pearls after wearing to remove and residues of such products from the surface of the pearls.  When you perspire, your skin produces salt and other toxins which can damage the pearls so it is good practice to gently wipe your pearl jewellery once you have removed them so as to avoid dehydrating the organic properties of the stone.  Avoid wearing pearls in contact with the skin.

About your stone…

Pearls are created when a mollusk like an oyster covers a foreign object with layers of nacre, the mother of pearl.  In the past, pearls occurred purely by chance but today most are cultured by man by putting a shell bead inside an oyster, returning it to the water and then waiting for it to do its magic and produce a pearl.

Pearls can come in many colours including cream, green, grey and black depending on where they are produced, from black Tahitian pearls to golden South Sea pearls – the choice is vast.  The quality of your pearl depends on the iridescence caused by light refraction on the layers of nacre and the lustre of the surface.  Due to the way pearls are created, it is often difficult to get pearls exactly as we want them and sometimes artificial methods are used to change or modify the appearance of the gem.  Pearls are often dyed so that certain colours can be obtained more easily and more cheaply than trying to source pearls which are naturally available in colours such as black or golden pearl.

Pearls of wisdom…

Pearls have been admired throughout history.  In Chinese legend the moon bestows its power on pearls giving them glow and mystery.  The Greeks considered pearls to be dew from the moon collected by oysters during the night time.  Persian myths refer to pearls as tears from the Gods and in some Islamic stories the pearl is God’s first act of creation.

There are many imitation pearls on the market and a very simple test can be taken to check the whether you are getting the real deal.  If you take your pearl and rub it gently against the edge of a tooth, your cultured and natural pearls will feel slightly rough like fine sandpaper due to the natural texture of nacre.  Imitations will be smooth because the surface has been created rather than naturally formed.

Pearl is the birthstone for June.

Pearls can make a beautiful centrepiece for a ring. We have beautiful examples on our cocktail rings page.