Artificially colored pearls

It is not possible that every pearl produced will be as beautiful and colorful as perfectly colored natural pearl. There are some artificial methods used to change or we can say modify the color of pearls.

Dyeing is the process in which color is artificially applied on surface of pearl. This is the most common method used to get colorful pearls. It should be noted that dyed pearls are not fake pearls.

Bleaching process either removes color completely or lightens the original color of pearl. This process is done by using chemical or physical agents or sometimes using light. Bleaching process make the color look more even.

Since pearls are obtained from shells there is possibility of some organic residues on the surface. To remove these organic residues Buffing is done.

To remove blemishes present on surface of pearls, Polishing is done. This process increases luster of pearls by removing some surface blemishes. There is one more process to increase luster of pearls, which is known as Coating of pearls. In this process artificial layer of substance is spread over the whole surface area of pearls or part of surface of pearls. Sometimes oiling is done to improve luster. There is no need of coating on high quality pearls as they naturally have very high luster.

If harvested pearl is partially hollow or its nucleus is somewhat loose then these void are filled with an epoxy substance. This will make pearl solid and will increase durability of pearl. This filling can be detected with help of X-rays.

Irradiation technique is used to enhance the natural color of pearl. This process can be used along with dyeing for light colored pearls. Usually gamma rays are bombarded on light colored pearls, after this treatment irradiated pearls will have iridescent bluish or greenish gray color.

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