[Jewelry making - Article 00933] - Re: [Orchid] Cleaning pearls

[Lyn Sutton]

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>         Karen I just learned this from a friend of mine who has been
>     knotting pearls for about 15 or so years. If strung or knotted
>     remove pearls from the silk, even if it means cutting apart the
>     knotted silk, being careful not to get a knot stuck in the hole of
>     the bead. Wash pearls with liquid Ivory soap and warm water. Most
>     liquid soaps are to harsh so make sure to Ivory brand. In a plastic
>     colander gently agitate the pearls, you can do this by stirring
>     with your hand. Rinse thoroughly and then lay out the pearls on a
>     towel to dry. Wait 24 hours before restringing to make sure the
>     holes have completely dried out. She says this should be done
>     yearly. Good Luck Koranna 

    Koranna, I would add one other consideration -- When pearls are first
    strung, it is not uncommon for the manufacturer (or original jeweler)
    to choose pearls from the temporarily strung strand that look "best"
    -- most lustre or best shape or color -- and position them at the
    center of the strand where they're at the forefront of the necklace
    (likewise, lesser pearls may be nearer the clasp where they're not
    as often seen). 

    For this reason, I would not cut apart a strand of pearls and place
    them all together in a colander. It is important to keep the pearls
    in the order in which they were strung when restringing to ensure the
    best presentation. This would be true of graduated strands as well;
    you may think the pearls would be easy to differentiate for
    restringing after the mass cleaning, but you may be surprised -- and
    your customer would be too! 

    I would recommend cleaning pearls on the silk before removing them
    for restringing, as Margery Epstein described in this digest posting. 

Best, Lyn Sutton
for Swest

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