keeping pearls nice

[cecil39]

I always thought it was opals that benifit from contact with the body, keeping them nice and bright, but my freind insists that its pearls that like the contact with skin and that they brighten up no end when worn, and go dull when left in the box, I'm a bit concerned as I recently gave some old one's to a charity shop thinking they were fake one's, have I got it wrong?

[askyourgran]

Pearls should be worn. I have some simulated ones in a box which have kept their colour, but natural pearls go yellow if not worn.

[Charity]

http://www.pearl-guid...hread.php?t=51&page=1

[woofgang]

Yes pearls need to be worn. if they aren't they get "sick"
Pearl care is simple. You never ever contaminate them with perfume, hairpspray or makeup. so they go on last after everything else is done and perfumes and sprays are well dried. Wear them against clean skin to keep them glowing and handle with clean hands. To clean wipe gently with a damp cloth using distilled water and allow to dry before putting away. Properly strung pearls need to be restrung every so often as they are strung on fibre which becomes weak with use and at risk of breaking. If strung properly they will have a knot between each pearl so the dramatic image of the string breaking and the pearls scattering all over the floor is not likely in real life. Even quality fake pearls will be strung in this way.
In case you are wondering, my pearls are freshwater ones, not expensive but I love them.

[rsvp]

pealrls are like women - they need to be nurtured, not neglected.

[Euphemia]

In an ideal world...

[atalanta]

Opals are stones, and very brittle. They are supposed to be bad luck, but that is because they can break if only slightly knocked. Pearls are made inside living shell-fish. You can tell pearls from beads by very gently rubbing them on your teeth. If they feel slightly gritty they are pearls. If they are smooth they are beads. But this does not distinguish between cultured pearls and wild ( dived ) pearls.

[cecil39]

thanks everyone, sadly it seems that i might have given away real pearls, silly me, but since I found them in a little box bought at a yard sale and never really looked at them I suppose i can't complain, I should have asked you first, I hope the charity shop people realized before they sold them, they were a dirty yellowish colour.

[bednobs]

they could have just been dirty beads

[cecil39]

I hope so, not that I mind giving to charity, but there are limits, I feel such a fool not to have checked them out, another lesson learned, thanks again everyone.