To care for pearls, wipe them with a soft, slightly damp cloth after each wear, keep them away from perfume, hairspray and household chemicals, and store them flat in a breathable pouch. Nacre from Pinctada maxima and Pinctada fucata is organic aragonite, and this gentle routine is all it needs to glow for decades.

At harvest we clean pearls with nothing stronger than fresh water and a soft cloth, and after years of handling them daily we promise you the routine at home is no harder. Pearls do not ask for much; they only ask consistently.

The Golden Rule: Last On, First Off

Put your pearls on after perfume, hairspray and makeup have settled, and take them off before you do anything else in the evening. Nacre is layered aragonite bound with organic conchiolin, and acids, alcohols and solvents etch it slowly — not in one wear, but cumulatively, the way drips wear stone. We have restrung fifty-year-old strands that still glow because their owner kept this one habit, and five-year-old strands gone chalky at the clasp from daily perfume. A few seconds of routine protects decades of shine.

Cleaning, Step by Step

• After every wear: wipe each pearl with a soft, lint-free cloth to lift skin oils and traces of cosmetics.
• Deeper clean: use a cloth barely dampened with plain water, work pearl by pearl, then dry fully before storing.
• Never: ultrasonic cleaners, steamers, jewellery dips, detergents or anything abrasive — all of them attack nacre.
• Strands: keep the silk dry; a soaked thread stretches and holds residue against the drill holes.

Storing Pearls Properly

Where pearls rest matters almost as much as how they are worn.

Pearls hold a little moisture and like a little humidity; sealed away for years they can dehydrate and dull. Wearing them now and then genuinely keeps them healthy. And lay strands flat — hung up, the silk between the knots stretches a little more every month.

Everyday Habits That Help

Keep pearls in their own pouch so diamonds, clasps and chains cannot scratch the surface — at 2.5 to 4.5 on the Mohs scale, nacre loses every argument with metal. Caught in the rain or after a hot day, wipe the strand dry before it goes away. Ask a jeweller to check the clasp and silk on a well-worn necklace once a year, and restring before the thread frays at the knots rather than after a pearl rolls under the table. None of this is demanding. Pearls simply reward a gentle touch with a lifetime of glow.

Travelling With Pearls

Pearls travel well if you pack them the way we ship them: each piece in its own soft pouch, the pouch inside something rigid, and always in hand luggage rather than the hold. On beach holidays, remember that sunscreen counts as a cosmetic — pearls go on after it has soaked in, and get a damp-cloth wipe each evening to lift salt air and spray. Hotel safes tend to be very dry, so the pouch beats a bare shelf. And before a long trip is the perfect moment to check the strand: hold it up and look at the silk between the knots near the clasp, where wear shows first. If the thread looks fuzzy or the pearls have begun to slide, restring before you fly, not after a knot gives way in an airport.

Care Questions We Answer Daily

Can I shower or swim in my pearls?

Better not. Chlorine, salt water and soap all erode nacre and weaken silk over time. Pearls love being worn; they do not love being washed.

How do I revive a dull pearl?

Start with a barely damp soft cloth and a full dry — surface films from skin and sprays cause most dullness, and that alone often brings the glow back. Never use chemical dips.

Do South Sea and Akoya pearls need different care?

No. The same gentle routine suits both, though the thicker nacre a South Sea pearl builds over years at sea is a touch more forgiving of a missed wipe.

Good habits deserve good pearls: explore our loose South Sea pearls and loose Akoya pearls, and when you are choosing a strand, our guide to necklace quality factors shows you what that care is protecting.