How do you care for your freshwater pearls?

[Caitlin]

If you put your pearls on pegs, are you concerned about security? Someone coming in and taking your pearls?

I live out in a rural area with a Chihuahua guard dog. He notifies me when anyone comes in the gate.

I like looking at the pearls. The ones I make for sale or giveaways are hung in my workspace-there's a pic of it somewhere here, and the ones I wear hang in the bathroom for easy choosing. The climate is extremely dry here, so I like to let the cooler blow on them in the summer. The kind of cooler we have (swamp box) adds moisture to the air- it doesn't take it away like AC does.

 

[Caitlin]

Little silk pouches are a really practical option but having tried it, I'm worried about the pearls scratching each other - they knock together as you remove them/replace them in the pouch and I'm concerned all that rubbing around will eventually dull them. I've mostly gone back to their original boxes so that the pearls aren't touching each other.

For similar reasons I've developed an aversion to wearing multiple strands of pearls (despite some necklaces being bought for specifically that purpose). I cringe as I can hear them clicking around against each other as I move about. Am I being silly?

PG design
Sorry I did not notice this post before. Don't worry about pearls clinking (or clanking or klonking) together. It sounds great and does not harm them.

Doug at Cortez pearls has a pearl he has been banging hard on a tabletop for years to show customers banging them is ok. And don't forget Sarah of Kojima and Pacific pearls has that Tahitian rope with a large tahitian pearl bangle on it. She wraps it many times around her wrist and the bangle pearl bangs several times a day. (I have seen this myself) She says she has worn this bracelet for 7 years, with no ill effects on any of the pearls. And Sarah is a top notch pro.

 

[laurenb]

I love pearl folders.

I live in a very hot climate and despite my best efforts to keep cool when I'm wearing pearls, I find I need to bathe them in Hagerty's or baby shampoo once a week. The open folder provides a nice nest for drying.

These crimson pearl folders are gorgeous and I suspect the synthetic fabric is very colorfast... red is very colorfast in general, as any clutzy wine or kool-aid drinker knows, but it's so bright that I can't help but worry about color transfer. What do you all think?

 

[Sueki]

Hi WeeGem,
Glad you managed to get one and even more glad that you like it - great, isn't it ?

 

[pattye]

In my experience I haven't found red fabrics to be particularly colorfast, my choice would be a light color for the folder, especially if putting damp pearls on them. They are gorgeous folders in the red!