Question about FWP changing color and luster

[EileenK]

This is the thread about FWP and saltwater pearls.

https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?11572-Southsea-Pearl-vs-Edison-Pearls

Pearls don't last anyway. I just want to enjoy what I have and not buy anymore.

 

[GemGeek]

I wouldn't rub pearls more than absolutely necessary. Earrings - rinse and pat dry with a soft freshly washed cloth. Any cloth that sits out gathers dust, which contains micro quartz grit.

Necklace, run it through a clean wet hand and pat dry after wearing. Wash pearls when they get dirty.

Eric is right. Each pearl grows and ages differently. Organic gems have their charms and their drawbacks. But we love them just the same.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Good point about dust containing quartz (which is considerably harder than pearls on the Moh hardness scale).

I like to wash out the microfiber cloths I use to wipe my pearls periodically. I store them in a drawer-- but of course dust can enter a drawer also. Maybe I'll start keeping the cloth in a plastic bag.

I have a question that is indirectly related. We know that akoya pearls can yellow over time-- and it seems to me that FWP can as well.
Can white SSP also yellow over time?
If not, why not?

 

[BWeaves]

My mother's baroque SSP's looked like they yellowed slightly over time. At least, I remembered them being whiter when she first bought them, and they were slightly ivory when I restrung them for my sister.

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

Enkeli, I have only noticed discoloring with older akoyas, but have other antique akoya's that look like new pearls do.
I hope the difference in color hasn't discouraged you from wearing your earrings. The distance between them on either side of your head should keep the viewers from seeing both straight on at the same time. If it really bothers you perhaps PP can help you match another pearl to either one so you have a matching set. The other lone pearl could be a pendant perhaps?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

My mother's baroque SSP's looked like they yellowed slightly over time. At least, I remembered them being whiter when she first bought them, and they were slightly ivory when I restrung them for my sister.

Interesting!

Well, there's a reason to buy GSS -- any yellowing that may occur over the years won't be noticeable.

 

[CrazyMissy]

I like the way you think, PD!

 

[Katbran]

Well after Baileys remark , now I'm a bit concerned about the high end and metallic whites. I simply cannot imagine why a pearl would change colour and lose lustre in just two years unless there has been some treatment that we are unaware of .. a fine coating as BWeaves mentioned. That would be really annoying. Seriously, why would anyone buy expensive white pearls if they could discolour and lose lustre in 2 years?? 20 years is a different story..

 

[Katbran]

Well...they do seem pale but some still seem quite lavender and similar to CC's photo. But that might be the photo and irl they are more yellow. That would be very disappointing.

All of this does make you wonder if there is/was some colour treating going on ...I just looked at some ripples from CC that are a good 6 years old and they are as deep rosy gold as ever.

Perhaps the colour has something to do with it...London Pearl showed me a pearl that had been purple and is now pink - your strand was lavender and is now yellowing. Maybe there is a problem specific to the purple/lavender shade?

 

[LondonPearl]

Katbran - from my experience - it is the darker colours - strong "purple" and deep orange that seem to change most. The first few years of production there were very few whites if any, many soft pinks and oranges and very few deep purple colours. I selected mainly the rare colours which were those deeper colours ......then.....

 

[ericw]

Some current high-tech coating, as polyurethane, can resist to age, maybe more than nacre itself. I repeat that pollution is maybe one of first factors to change brightness of pearls, years after years. About colours, the most sensible dyes are always those containing pink or red, because red (pink and yellow) is the first colour to be destroyed by UV rays (look at an old colours printed paper wich has received sunlight during a long time, it saved just the blue).

 

[enkeli]

Enkeli, I have only noticed discoloring with older akoyas, but have other antique akoya's that look like new pearls do.
I hope the difference in color hasn't discouraged you from wearing your earrings. The distance between them on either side of your head should keep the viewers from seeing both straight on at the same time. If it really bothers you perhaps PP can help you match another pearl to either one so you have a matching set. The other lone pearl could be a pendant perhaps?

It's interesting to me how sometimes some pearls change and others don't. I don't have many pearls (yet, heh!) but only noticed this one pearl's difference. And when I did I thought this was the right place to come and ask. I'm glad I did. I value everyone's input and patience with me.

I do love these earrings and will continue to wear them. I'll ask PP about it if the change in color becomes even more noticeable and maybe, like you said, they can match another pearl. Thanks for that suggestion!

 

[enkeli]

I wouldn't rub pearls more than absolutely necessary. Earrings - rinse and pat dry with a soft freshly washed cloth. Any cloth that sits out gathers dust, which contains micro quartz grit.

Necklace, run it through a clean wet hand and pat dry after wearing. Wash pearls when they get dirty.

Eric is right. Each pearl grows and ages differently. Organic gems have their charms and their drawbacks. But we love them just the same.

I make sure all my jewelry cloths are clean -- this is good advice as dust is abrasive and that's the last thing I'd want to do with pearls!

Hm...haven't used the wet hand method, but have been using a clean, moist cloth -- I like your suggestions better and will try it.

Thanks!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I just looked at every pearl I own. A large number of them are FWP, including assorted metallics and exotics in white and natural colors. I am an eclectic buyer so these come from multiple vendors.
Edit: One FW pendant might have a bead in it; the rest of the FW are solid nacre.

With the exception of the one AA/AA+ FWP strand I mentioned previously that has gone a bit creamy (but is still lustrous) I do not see any degradation in luster or color in any of my pearls, including assorted metallic FWP and including my lavender pearls.

 

[LondonPearl]

I just looked at every pearl I own. A large number of them are FWP, including assorted metallics and exotics in white and natural colors. I am an eclectic buyer so these come from multiple vendors.
Edit: One FW pendant might have a bead in it; the rest of the FW are solid nacre.

With the exception of the one AA/AA+ FWP strand I mentioned previously that has gone a bit creamy (but is still lustrous) I do not see any degradation in luster or color in any of my pearls, including assorted metallic FWP and including my lavender pearls.

Pearl Dreams - it is the bead nucleated "Edison" pearls that seem to change colour with time not the "solid nacre" freshwaters.

 

[battah]

I wonder if the color change in the Edisons has anything to do with a combination of the pigments in the outer layers of nacre fading, and the translucency of the nacre itself allowing the bead to show? That might explain tissue-nucleated freshwater pearls not discoloring?

Just a guess. I haven't been collecting pearls that long and haven't noticed any discoloration in my small collection.

 

[ericw]

I think it's a question of architecture of the nacre. I have observed that many freshwater pearls, edison and often lavander nucleated pearls, have more conchyoline layers parallel to the surface than right, even sometime thick layers without aragonite at all, also. As these layers give colour to the pearls, their particular layout can make them more sensible to UV rays. Against that, none nucleated pearls and saltwater pearls have a more homogeneous nacre, where it seems that conchyoline is spread by the same manner in any directions, and compound conchyoline /nacre is regular , wich give same nacre colour outer or deeply and maybe this better colour durability.