- How do the pearls get that color?
Pearls may be naturally colored, dyed, bleached, or irradiated.
Natural means they were that color straight from the oyster. Usually these are the white, ivory, peach and other light
shades.
Many pearls are dyed. The dyes are permanant and there is a very wide range
of color. Some white pearls are bleached. Other pearls may be irradiated, especially the peacock pearls and some
of the brown shades.
Almost all freshwater pearls are cultured. That means some small piece was
added to the oyster to get the pearl started. Usually it's a little piece of mother-of-pearl. Sometimes shapes like
crosses or hearts or added. The oyster will make a pearl around that shape! I have some pearls in the shape of a cross
that I'll be putting up later.
Most cultured pearls come from somewhere in Asia. China is a big producer of freshwater
pearls.
2. Will the silver tarnish?
Sterling silver will tarnish. It will tarnish less if you take
good care of it. Proper storage is very important. You can use silver cloth (available from JoAnnes and other
fabric stores) to line your jewelry box or drawers. Anti-tarnish strips also works well. If the jewelry is all
silver, put it in a ziplock bag. Keep the jewelry away from moisture, don't sleep in it, wear it swimming or in the
shower, or wear it when you will be sweating excessively. Avoid paper and cardboard boxes during storage, including
the cardboard jewelry gift boxes. They often contain acid that will tarnish sterling silver very quickly.
The Art Clay and the Hilltribe Silver that I use tarnishes very little.
Art Clay is almost pure silver (.999) and Hilltribe Silver is usually .97 to .98 so it's very pure. The higher the silver
content, the less tarnish. I've never had to polish the Hilltribe Silver.
If your silver does tarnish I recommend using a Sunshine cloth for easy cleaning.
