pearl phosphorescence

[Albalone3_162]

Hello!

I was skimming topics here and came upon the tidbit that phosphorescence of pearls allows them to glow in the dark. Can any natural pearl, saltwater or fresh, with enough manganese content glow in the dark, regardless of origin or color? Do they glow "forever" or will it fade with time? Can you compare the brightness and color of the luminescence to something, like a glow-in-the-dark watch face or luminescent bacteria?

I searched Google for more information about this topic but couldn't find anything. Hope someone can satisfy my curiosity!

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Abalone,

The effect is faint and shows best in light colored pearls. It fades relatively quickly and how long it lasts depends on how long it was exposed to intense UV light before hand. If you have white pearls with high manganese content that you leave out in bright sunlight for a whole day, they will show an afterglow for about 3 hours after the exposure stops. It makes the pearls look bigger and higher-quality than they are as long as the effect lasts. It is by no means a dramatic effect as in your watch dial.

Zeide