Caring for Pearl Jewelry

Keeping Pearl Jewelry Beautiful

The tips in this section are designed to help you prolong the life of your beautiful pearl jewelry so it looks just as stunning as the day you bought it for years to come

Do Not Exercise in Pearl Jewelry

Since pearls primarily consist of calcium carbonate any interaction with an acid can cause damage to the pearl. Sweat contains acids, which over time may damage your pearls. In addition to removing nacre from the surface of the pearls, sweat can also cause the drill holes where the silk is knotted together to enlarge.

Do Not Wear Pearl Jewelry to the Beach

Oil from sun tan oil or lotion can cause damage to your pearls. And, avoid wearing your pearls to the beach or to the pool. Although water in its simplest form will not harm pearls, chlorine and other chemicals in a pool, and anything that may be found in salt water could potentially damage your pearls.

Store Pearls Carefully

It is important to wear your pearls regularly. Frequent wear means you aren’t storing your pearls for prolonged periods of times in tightly sealed or overly dry areas. Storing your pearls under these conditions can lead to the pearl drying out and potentially cracking.

MuseumWayPearls.com recommends storing your pearls in a soft terrycloth bag with nothing else. If you store your pearls in a jewelry box with metals or other jewelry you risk the possibility of scratching the surface of your pearls. It is best to store them alone in a place where air can get at them. At the same time you want to make sure the pearls are not stored in excessive heat or excessive light.

Keep Products Away from Pearl Jewelry

When getting ready for your day, it is important to always remember to put your pearls on last. Drying your hair with your pearls on can actually burn your pearls.

Additionally, pearls should not come into contact with lotions, perfumes, hairsprays or other sprays containing chemicals.

How to Clean Pearl Jewelry

If your pearls do become dirty as most will just from normal wear, it is recommended to clean your pearls with a soft paper tissue with a small amount of warm water several times per year. This will remove small amounts of sweat, dirt and oil.

If your pearls need a heavier cleaning this can be done in a cleaned out sink in warm water with a small amount of dishwashing detergent. The pearls should soak for no more than 30 minutes, after which time they should be placed on a soft cloth for 36-48 hours. Keep in mind most pearls are strung on silk so there is always the risk of the necessity to re-string if you wet and dry your pearls excessively.

If you have any questions in regards to the care of your pearls or other questions related to MuseumWayPearls.com’s pearl jewelry do not hesitate to contact us at CustomerService@MuseumWayPearls.com or 888-817-2843.

How To Buy Pearls-The In's and Outs

Buying pearls can be a confusing process. There are many types, price ranges, qualities and places you can purchase pearls. There are several decisions that need to be made when one considers purchasing pearl jewelry. We will try and make this as easy as possible for you.

Pearl Jewelry Prices

The first decision is deciding your budget. A nice pearl necklace that looks beautiful can cost as little as slightly less than $100 to more than $100,000. As a result, determining how much you would like to spend is a crucial first step as this will narrow down the types of pearls and quality of pearls available to you.

Once you have determined your budget the second decision is finding something in your price range. You can use the top navigation bar under the "pearl price" category and choose your price range. This will display all of the available types, colors, and qualities of pearls available to you within your specific budget on our Website.

Types of Pearl Jewelry

Once you have found the piece of pearl jewelry you are looking for the third step is to write down the specifications. The specifications you need are the "Type": Akoya, Tahitian, freshwater or South Sea. The size, which is always in MM (this is an abbreviation for millimeter and is the diameter of each of the pearls). The color, and lastly the quality. We only carry AA+, AAA, and Hanadama quality pearls, which are the equivalent to the quality of Mikimoto pearls. For a further education, be sure to check our learn about pearls series.

Smart Shopping for Pearls

This fourth step will convince you that you absolutely must buy pearls online. This is certainly a big decision for you but the cost savings you achieve from buying pearls online, combined with our 90 Day return guarantee make the purchase risk free for you.

After you have the specifications written down, open up a new window in your browser, and search for jewelers located near you. We highly recommend you call a couple of jewelers, give them the exact specifications you have written down, and ask for a quote. Don't be surprised when they quote a price at least two to five times greater than what you saw on Museum Way Pearls. This is typical for a brick and mortar retail store. Pearls are marked up considerably as they exchange hands between wholesalers. Furthermore, retail jewelry stores have a considerable amount of overhead to run their operations, which is included in the price of any jewelry purchased at a retail store. We source our pearls direct from Asia, and have no middlemen and as a result are able to offer you significantly lower prices.

Buy Inexpensive Pearl Jewelry

After you have been blown away by the price you have been quoted, navigate back to our site and make your purchase. We ship for free if you order UPS Ground but have options for overnight. In addition to free shipping, your purchase comes with a G.I.A. appraisal, which is the most well respected gemological institute in the world. The appraisal value will be closer to the price you were quoted by the retail store owner, roughly two to five times higher than your purchase price. Keep in mind you have 90 days to return your purchase if you are not 100% satisfied and you can call us at any time at 888-817-2843. We hope you find these tips helpful.

You will see there are hundreds of different pearl jewelry pieces to choose from on MuseumWayPearls.com. We attempt to make it as easy as possible for you to find exactly what you are looking for.

Learn About Pearls

Museum Way Pearls offers a diverse range of pearls in many different styles and price ranges from all over the world. We source all of our pearls from the pearl farms of Japan, China, French Polynesia and Australia.

Tahitian Pearls

Tahitian pearls are very popular because of their unique shapes, overtones and dimensions. The pearls get their natural black color from the oyster in which they are grown. Museum Way Pearls offers round and baroque Tahitian pearl necklaces as well as round Tahitian pearl earrings and pendants.

Freshwater Pearls

Museum Way Pearls sells freshwater pearls that are white, pink/peach, lavender, black and a multi-color collection. Freshwater pearls are both affordable and come in stunning colors. Unlike saltwater akoya pearls, which are bred in oysters, freshwater pearls are cultivated in freshwater mussels.

Saltwater Akoya Pearls

Saltwater Akoya pearls tend to be the most traditional pearls found in pearl jewelry today. The adornment of the akoya pearl can be traced back thousands of years and were known to be worn by aristocratic figures throughout history. Economies and trade routes have been established from these gems.

South Sea Pearls

South Sea pearls are distinguishable by their larger sizes ranging up to the rare size of 20mm as well as their and lustrous gold and white colors. White South Sea pearls are cultured mainly in Australia while golden South Sea pearls are produced in Indonesia and the Philippines as well as Australia.

Additionally, there is a wealth of information in regards to pearls and pearl jewelry on one of the industry's most respected informational sites called Pearl Guide. Museum Way Pearls is a contributor to this forum as are many other respected professionals. Please do not hesitate to call us toll free at 888-817-2843 if you have any questions.