South Sea Pearl Nacre Thickness

[ennui]

Also, pearls need to be properly cared for or they can be damaged. Exposing them to perfumes, hair spray, cosmetics etc. will damage the luster.

Storing them in plastic bags prevents their having access to moisture in the air which is good for them. Opals also need moisture.

And at the same time, pearls like to be worn. New pearls come to life after being worn a few times.

Thanks for the photo, Jeremy. Very impressive!

 

[EileenK]

Luster is also measurable-- e.g. hanadama pearls are graded on their teri-value.

Luster is dependent not only on the thickness of the nacre, also on how well the crystals of aragonite are arranged.

So while thick nacre is not a guarantee of high luster, a pearl won't have high luster without also having thick nacre. For example-- freshwater pearls without a nucleus are all nacre, but there are many dull FWP.

Also, pearls need to be properly cared for or they can be damaged. Exposing them to perfumes, hair spray, cosmetics etc. will damage the luster.

Storing them in plastic bags prevents their having access to moisture in the air which is good for them. Opals also need moisture.

I am confused. Jeremey posted to say that plastic bags are a big no no for pearls as this dries them out. Which is it?

 

[Bailey1856]

Storing them in plastic bags prevents their having access to moisture in the air which is good for them. Opals also need moisture.

EileenK, the moisture in the air is good for them. Storing them in plastic bags (which prevent moisture from getting to them) is not good. It will dry them out.

 

[EileenK]

EileenK, the moisture in the air is good for them. Storing them in plastic bags (which prevent moisture from getting to them) is not good. It will dry them out.

Ok, I see So moisture is good for them.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Yes, that is what I meant. Moisture is good for pearls and air contains moisture, so you don't want to store pearls long-term anywhere they won't be exposed to moisture. This includes sealed plastic bags, safe deposit box etc.