What
Pearl Doctors Do?
The pearl doctor is
the cosmetic surgeon of the pearl
world who improves pearls by delicately
removing blemishes, his 'instruments' consisting of fine scrapers, abrasives
and a sensitive touchy infinite patience
and a considerable knowledge of pearls.
In this aspect of the pearl trade, to simply describe the careful removal of a pimple
or a blotch by use of miniature files or scraping devices would be accurate but
not adequate.
'Doctoring' is a term which has hints of doping or interfering for
some gainful purpose, not strictly honest or above board. Gemstone colors are
often changed permanently by heat treatment, classic examples being
heat treatment of greenish 'aquamarine' to an improved and more attractive
blue. This is an accepted trade practice.
Pearls when first extracted from the tissue
of oysters, particularly Japanese cultured pearls, are lightly bleached in a
weak hydrogen peroxide solution.
Sunlight also has a bleaching effect.
X-ray irradiation can
cause darkening of color in some pearls and is thus not a desirable effect, but
generally speaking little 'doctoring' of pearls takes place to alter their color.
Early
Pearl Doctors
In the heyday of the
pearl trade there were certainly pearl doctors in Hatton Garden, London, in the
neighborhood of Rue Lafayette, Paris, and in jewelry quarters of Maiden Lane,
New York.
In some respects this
working of pearls introduces the risk or gamble so beloved of many who deal in
precious stones and pearls who put their hands in their pockets and take a
calculated risk. It is usually only on large-sized and potentially valuable pearls
that specialist skills are employed. No great risk or great financial loss is incurred
with small and/or medium-quality pearls.
T.
B. Elles, a native of Ceylon,
was recognized in the boom days as being the most skilful of pearl doctors. He
worked on pearls at Broome, Western Australia, and it was said that the Broome
pearlers paid him quite handsomely to keep him in the town, presumably to work
on blemished pearls, rather than go to London or Paris where he could have
obtained employment in the jewellery world. T. B. Elles had a son, Charlie
Elles, who was also in the pearl business at Broome but business there has
dropped considerably. In Hatton Garden another father-and-son business of pearl
doctors was Brockman & Son.
Different Kinds Of
Pearl Treatments Done by Pearl Doctors
When a low-quality
cultured pearl is cleaned and polished, and still does not have a good luster,
the farmer is left with a few options. He can sell the pearl at a steep
discount; dispose of the pearl; peel the nacre to sell it, then reuse the
nucleus; or apply a treatment to the pearl that will change its appearance. If
the pearl is a good candidate for treatment, this is the most common and
economically sensible approach for the farmer.
There
are three main treatments that low-quality pearls undergo:
Dyeing: The use of silver nitrate or other organic dyes to darken the nacre of the
pearl.
Irradiation: The use of gamma rays to darken the nucleus of the pearl in akoya pearls and
the nacre layers in freshwater.
Luster treatments: A pearl is heated and then cooled or a
coating treatment placed on the surface of the pearl to artificially enhance
the luster. This is also referred to as "maeshori".
Processing of Chinese
tissue-grafted freshwater pearls usually involves the sequential steps of:
1. Sorting (grading)
for size, shape, colour and perfection of surface.
2. Drilling to remove flaws, allow access
for cleaning and bleaching.
3. Bleaching to remove dark spots and
lighten colour. Agents used include bleaching agents (e.g. hydrogen peroxide),
solvents and surface-active agents.
4. Whitening with fluorescent brightening
agents.
5. Color enhancement by dyeing and/or
irradiation.
6. Washing to remove toxic by-products of
colour enhancement.
7. Polishing in tumblers filled with wax
and bamboo, walnut shells or sheepskin.
Do-It-Yourself
Cleaning for Pearl Jewelries
Things
You'll Need:
a) Jewelry cleaning
solution suitable for pearls
b) Soft cleaning cloth
c) Storage pouch or
cloth suitable for pearls
1) Your pearls will stay cleaner if
you put them on after you've applied your makeup and perfume.
2) Lay the pearl strand flat on a
clean soft cloth or towel. Make a mild solution of soap flakes (I use Ivory soap flakes) and warm water,
and apply with a new pure natural bristle complexion or manicure brush,
scrubbing gently. Being careful to support the strand so as not to stretch the
thread, turn the necklace over and repeat. To rinse, submerge the strand in
cool water flush with cool tap water for a minimum of five minutes. Carefully
remove the strand from the water and lay it on a fresh towel to air dry. Don't
move it until it is completely dry.
3) Never clean your pearls with
solutions that contain ammonia or harsh
detergents. Use cleaning product like Pearls Natural Jewelry Cleaner Concentrate which is non-toxic, hypo-allergenic
and non-irritating to the skin and fingernail polish.
4) Don't use abrasive cleaners or rub pearls with abrasive cloth. Both can wear
away the nacre coating, leaving you with a plain looking bead.
5) Pearls are an organic gem comprised
of calcium carbonate, pearls require
more specialized care than most
other gems materials. They are particularly subject to deterioration from
contact with chemicals, including components in household cleaners, perfumes, cosmetics and hair care
products of all kinds.
6) Be sure to take off your pearl
rings before you apply hand and body creams.
7) Wipe your pearls with a soft, lint-free cloth as soon as you take
them off. The cloth can be dampened with water or it can be dry. If damp, allow
the pearls to air dry before putting them away.
8) The surface of a pearl is soft and
is easily damaged. Pearls set in rings and bracelets are more subject to
scuffing and scratching than pearls set in brooches, earrings, necklaces or
strands. A pearl ring or bracelet should
be considered a special-occasion piece, not for daily wear and definitely
not to be worn while working with the hands.
9) A good rule of thumb is that pearls
are the last thing you put on when
dressing and the first thing you take off
when you get home. NEVER apply
perfume or hairspray when you are wearing pearl jewelry, especially a strand of
pearls.
10) Don't put pearl jewelry in an ultrasonic
cleaner.
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