About luster treatment

[Yikai]

I heard Caitlin said that many people at the forum are fascinated in luster treatment. I’d like to share some information I got from my father. I heard this recipe worth much money, but anyway…share is good.

First of all, you have pearls drilled. (I saw a thread talking about drilling. We have drill machines here; it's very easy to drill pearls.)
Then pearls need to go through 6 steps. First put pearls with freshwater and steam for two days, then take them out and put them with methanol and steam for another two days. Then repeat it another 4 times. Overall, steam 6 times, water, methanol, water, methanol, water and methanol. The temperature should be around 40 degree centigrade. This process is called “Adding luster".

Second, put the pearls into a big bucket and steam them with water, the temperature should be around 90 degree centigrade. It would take 10 days.

Third, it's time for bleaching. There are two ways for that：bleaching in a hot atmosphere or a cold one. We usually use the former one. Put Hydrogen Peroxide, Glycerin and a new chemical (I do not know the name yet) together. Then put the bottles with pearls and chemicals into a big machine which can maintain certain degree centigrade.

After that, dry the pearls and put all the pearls into a machine with many little corn chips. The machine will shake rapidly and the chips will rub the pearls and make it shiny. It's the polishing part.

It's done! It's a little bit abstract. Maybe you need to coma over and see how we operate, and then you will get a clear idea of it.

 

[jerin]

Thanks for this interesting information Yikai. Have you any idea if these treatments "wear off" after a certain amount of time or can the customer expect that the luster will hold if no other chemical reactions as acid body oils could spoil the luster?

 

[Yikai]

Thanks for this interesting information Yikai. Have you any idea if these treatments "wear off" after a certain amount of time or can the customer expect that the luster will hold if no other chemical reactions as acid body oils could spoil the luster?

Thanks, jerin. As far as know, pearls will lose luster finally and at that time these treatments will not work that effectively.

 

[Mervione]

Thanks for the information.

I feel a bit put off by pearls now actually.

 

[Yikai]

Thanks for the information.

I feel a bit put off by pearls now actually.

Are you from Sweden? I saw your pofile, and it says you are born in 1989. Are you still in college like me?

 

[pattye]

Hello Yikai,

Welcome, and thanks for the interesting info about luster treatment. I do have a few more questions about the treatment--
1. Is this done only to white pearls? I am wondering about the darker purple, pink and peach pearls. It seems it would not be appropriate to bleach them.

2. Does the sorting and stringing come after the treatment?

3. Is the treatment done to all grades of pearls? Even the very small baroque that will sell for, lets say, $1 per strand?

Thank you!

 

[elisa]

this is really cool. I second pattye's questions about colored pearls and low grade pearls.

(ps. yikai-- I am not actually from Indianapolis, I am from Milwaukee, but I'll be living in Chicago soon. Midwesterners unite! )

 

[dkan 168]

I shan't attempt this myself, as it would be a bit of a nightmare health and safety wise, with all the alcohol vapour etc...

DK

 

[Yikai]

Hello Yikai,

Welcome, and thanks for the interesting info about luster treatment. I do have a few more questions about the treatment--
1. Is this done only to white pearls? I am wondering about the darker purple, pink and peach pearls. It seems it would not be appropriate to bleach them.

2. Does the sorting and stringing come after the treatment?

3. Is the treatment done to all grades of pearls? Even the very small baroque that will sell for, lets say, $1 per strand?

Thank you!

Hi pattye,

Thanks for you questions. I forgot to mention pearls with other colors.
Here are my answers for you questions:

1. This is done only to white pearls, we don't bleach ones with other colors. Dealing with those pearls, we skip the bleaching part.

2. Sort first, we need to pick really round pearls. Then, have the rest(ones not that round) drilled. After that, do the treatments. Last, it's the stringing part.

3. In my family's company, we do the treatments to all grades of pearls. Labor is cheap here. Unless we just steam 4 times with the cheap pearls, water, methanol, water and methanol. We have a warehouse specially for doing treatments to the cheap pearls.

Thanks, pattye.

 

[Yikai]

this is really cool. I second pattye's questions about colored pearls and low grade pearls.

(ps. yikai-- I am not actually from Indianapolis, I am from Milwaukee, but I'll be living in Chicago soon. Midwesterners unite! )

Hi, elisa.
You question is answered in my post to pattye. Midwesterners unite! See you then!

 

[Yikai]

I shan't attempt this myself, as it would be a bit of a nightmare health and safety wise, with all the alcohol vapour etc...

DK

You should wear a gas mask, then it would be safe. Here we wear a gas mask.

 

[Mervione]

Are you from Sweden? I saw your pofile, and it says you are born in 1989. Are you still in college like me?

Yeah, I am. I live in Stockholm.

I was in college, but dropped out. Going back to college next term. Really looking forward to it.

 

[Yikai]

Yeah, I am. I live in Stockholm.

I was in college, but dropped out. Going back to college next term. Really looking forward to it.

Good for you! Stockholm University?

 

[Mervione]

No, a college a bit outside Stockholm.

My friend though is partly studying at Stockholms Uni, but mainly at KTH (Royal Techniqal Uni sort of).

 

[Caitlin]

Hi Yikai
Thanks for the attention you are givng this thread.

So the cultured freshwaters can take steam after we get them home? (Not that I plan to do it!)

What does that do, prepare the pearls for the methanol?

You do not bleach the purples, that makes sense. Do they get the steam, methanol, treatment too? Or just the corn chips?

Are they commercial, edible corn chips, or the the chips fried in some other kind of oil?

Some of the best quality pearls Jeremy gets are not treated. So is it just the off-rounds and down that you treat? What is the best oil for the corn chips?

It sounds like you separate the roundest, best ones out first. What do you do to them, just the corn chips? If so, that is rather like the mineral oil Douglas uses.......clever way to get some oil on pearls though.

Most of my untreated pearls are the naturally colored ones.

When Jeremy brought the very best quality loose stock usually saved out for earrings, back the first time, and had made them into necklaces- the freshadamas, I think he mentioned they weren't treated at all except maybe some corn oil? Maybe the corn oil was on the chips?

Just trying to put two and two together....we have some members that were disappointed at hearing about the oil "treatment".

Hey Josh, If you catch this thread, do you tumble your pearls with anything-or use oil?

 

[Yikai]

Hi Yikai
Thanks for the attention you are givng this thread.

So the cultured freshwaters can take steam after we get them home? (Not that I plan to do it!)

What does that do, prepare the pearls for the methanol?

You do not bleach the purples, that makes sense. Do they get the steam, methanol, treatment too? Or just the corn chips?

Are they commercial, edible corn chips, or the the chips fried in some other kind of oil?

Some of the best quality pearls Jeremy gets are not treated. So is it just the off-rounds and down that you treat? What is the best oil for the corn chips?

It sounds like you separate the roundest, best ones out first. What do you do to them, just the corn chips? If so, that is rather like the mineral oil Douglas uses.......clever way to get some oil on pearls though.

Most of my untreated pearls are the naturally colored ones.

When Jeremy brought the very best quality loose stock usually saved out for earrings, back the first time, and had made them into necklaces- the freshadamas, I think he mentioned they weren't treated at all except maybe some corn oil? Maybe the corn oil was on the chips?

Just trying to put two and two together....we have some members that were disappointed at hearing about the oil "treatment".

Hey Josh, If you catch this thread, do you tumble your pearls with anything-or use oil?

Thanks for asking so many questions, Caitlin. I will answer them on by one.
You can steam them with water and methanl at home if you could control the temperature. Actually I have no idea of why steaming them first with water, my father doesn't know either.(I asked him) The recipe is bought from others.This is a new and better method. We used to steam pearls with methanol first. One thing I forgot to mention is "the water" used for steaming is a mixture of magnesium hydroxide, ammonia and freshwater.

Purple ones get the steam, methanol, treatment, too. Although they go through 4 times of steaming. Water, methanol, water and methanol. I think the basic idea is to prevent purple ones from being steamed over!

Those corn chips are very hard. I also asked my father from which part of a corn the chips come, but he didn't know either. We just know they are bought from another province-Guangdong, and they are expensive. Sometimes we use chips of hulls of one kind of walnuts. They are hard, too.

We don't use oil. Instead, we use a kind of very expensive wax. So don't be sad. I think the chips are soaked in the wax before being put into the machine.

Every nice pearl is polished in this way, but there is one exception. You said some of the best quality pearls Jeremy gets are not treated. It's true if costomers ask us not to do any treatments to them. Some costomers did ask us not to do treatments.

 

[pattye]

On another thread, Gemgeek mentioned that she uses corn husks embedded with rouge in her tumbler, I think for polishing metal, as it was a conversation with Mervione. Perhaps that is what Yikai means, very interesting. Perhaps a photo of the material could be helpful---------

Aha, nothing like a google search to help a little---http://www.frantzcompany.com/polish.htm Dried granulated corn cobs--nice to know they aren't going to waste. Could be other types of materials also, of course----------

 

[pattye]

Hey Caitlin, I don't think it is Fritos Corn chips!! Darn!

 

[Caitlin]

heh,heh, heh!

I was not imagining corn cobs, but it is a great idea.

The wax in there is a polishing agent. It is like polishing shoes. It adds another element to luster - just plain shininess -which is not the same as mirror or orient.

I think the wax must provide a modicum of protection for the pearls until it wears off. At what temperature does the wax melt?

What I meant by steaming them at home was just contact with steamy water vapors. Or putting them in hot water--

About a year ago, I put on a cultured freshwater bracelet (10mm pink/lavender pearls with a lot of orient, and even metallic luster) and wore it for a year as a test of the thread being used to make it. Anyway I wore it 24/7, in the shower and while washing dishes. If anything, it seems even more shiny than when I started
wearing it. Those pearls are fairly round but baroquey, not eggy. The skin has some wrinkles that add to the orient. Did it get wrinkly from the treatments before it got sold?

BTW
The string (power pro) passed with flying colors- no stretching even though it got wet everyday. It shed water quickly and was dry in minutes. If I yanked it on something, the strength of the string is such that the clasp would break first. I never yanked it that hard by accident, so I think it is a very wearable, secure string for big pearls and bracelets.

 

[Hanaleimom]

BTW
The string (power pro) passed with flying colors- no stretching even though it got wet everyday. It shed water quickly and was dry in minutes. If I yanked it on something, the strength of the string is such that the clasp would break first. I never yanked it that hard by accident, so I think it is a very wearable, secure string for big pearls and bracelets.

A couple of my baroque strands had stretched (silk). Although I've worn them often, they haven't been in my possession a year yet. I must admit I joined both strands to wear as a rope most of the time. All that weight must have prematurely stretched the silk. I've restrung with Power Pro recently. I am happy to hear that Power Pro passed the test.