Pearls that are constantly worn with judicious care do not seem to deteriorate in any way. By judicious care we mean that pearls should not be dropped or thrown down violently or placed on any substance which is likely to act injuriously on the surface of the pearl itself.
Strings of pearls should never be dipped into water or solutions of any kind, because the string which passes through them is likely to absorb and to draw the liquid into the pearl, and as the pearl is made up of many concentric layers, it is quite possible that, through capillary action, some liquid, either pure, or stained with a foreign substance, might be brought into the pearl, which would in this way eventually become discolored. Rings and brooches containing half-pearls frequently change color from this cause; but contact with the skin, or with lace, or with fabrics which are not stained with certain chemical solutions, seems to have no injurious effect upon pearls.
Ladies’ sewing case and scissors inlaid with half-pearls
Eighteenth Century
Watch incrusted with half-pearls
Paris Exposition, 1900
Snuff-box, ivory inlaid with fresh-water pearls
Eighteenth Century. Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Watch incrusted with half-pearls
Paris Exposition, 1900