[Jewelry making - Article 01064] - [Orchid] Pearl Treatments

[William Stedler]

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    I am curious if anyone has experimented or has knowledge of certain
    pearl color treatment techniques. I plan to play around with some of
    the treatments below but would appreciate any insight into any
    processing techniques including proper dilutions, wavelengths, etc. 

    1. Freshwater pearl bleaching: Most FWP, as they are harvested, are
    brownish orange. They are then soaked in a bleach bath under intense
    flouresent lights for a period of time. 

    2. Freshwater pearl irradiation: Apparently, irradiating pearls
    essentially burns the inner nacreous layers of a pearl to form a
    brownish color. This appears as a grey to peacock color on the
    surface. 

    3. Pearl dyeing: I have read that pearls are dyed with a silver salt
    (silver nitrate, silver chloride, etc) and silver is deposited on
    the surface of the pearl creating a gray to black color. 

    If anyone is familiar with any of these processes, I would
    appreciate any specific information you have--or even methods that
    don't work. 

Thanks,
William

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