I inherited a pair of pearl earrings from an aunt. The jeweler who reset them for my pierced ears pointed out that the surface had deteriorated, undoubtedly due to my aunts having used spray perfume after she put them on. Alcohol can eat away at pearl surfaces (as can the use ((Oh Horror)) of hair spray)
Modern cultured pearls also have a much thinner layer of nacre, as the seeded oysters are left layering the nacre for a much shorter period of time then was the practice in the past. Because of this cultured pearls do have some limit on their life span, the longer they were left in the oyster, the longer they last.
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mmmag
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Date: 2008-02-21 04:03 am (UTC)Modern cultured pearls also have a much thinner layer of nacre, as the seeded oysters are left layering the nacre for a much shorter period of time then was the practice in the past. Because of this cultured pearls do have some limit on their life span, the longer they were left in the oyster, the longer they last.