How to best take care of your precious pearls?

The charm of owning a pearl bracelet, earrings or necklace, is such that rarely any woman in history has been able to resist herself from getting one. We go on to buy these radiant beauties with so much love and adoration for ourselves, or a loved one, and then to see them get damaged or even lose their luster becomes simply painful.

Pearls are recognized the world over as the only organic gems, which means they require extra care than regular precious stones or jewelry. Made of calcium carbonate, they cannot be stored as we would our other valuables. And, fact is, that when it comes to the safe-keeping and maintenance of pearls, what may seem common sense may prove to be plain wrong.

Now, since pearls are organic gems, this makes them softer and much more delicate than other precious gemstones. This means they are more susceptible to being scratched, cracked or damaged, and even something as harmless as perfume, or hair spray can rid these delicate beauties of their sheen. This brings us to our first tip: apply your oils, cosmetics, perfumes & hair spray before slipping on your pearls. The second tip being to wipe them with a soft, damp cloth before you go ahead to store them, so as to rid them of any traces of cosmetic residue, build-up or effect of some other.

Also, given their delicate nature, you should store your pearls away from any hard items, preferably in a linen/silk cloth or a soft-lined container/jewelry box. Getting your pearls strands restrung on a periodic basis is a great way of making them last longer. Make sure to have knots between the pearls, so that even if your string breaks, you won’t end up losing the entire set. So go ahead and buy those pearls without fear!

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