Keep the sheen of your classic accessories

1 Keep away from make-up: Always wear your pearls after you are done with applying make-up. Put the pearls on after you have applied sprayed perfume and hair sprays. Products that harm pearls the most are hair sprays, cosmetics and face creams as their chemicals damage the sheen.

2 Cushion your pearls: Once you take off  the pearls, wipe them with a soft damp cloth. Polish them occasionally with a silk cloth to enhance their shine. Never leave them on the dressing table, but deposit them back in their original container.

3 Preserve them well: Store pearls in Chinese silk jewellery pouch. Velvet lined boxes with separate compartments are also safe options.

4 Keep them cool: Heat can discolour the pearls. Therefore, never leave pearls close to the fireplace, television set or a radiator.  Also never steam clean them. Don't touch your pearls with your fingers either while eating spicy food that can damage the pearl surface.

5 Cleanse carefully: Stick to pearl jewellery cleaning solution to clean your pearls. Never use the ones available for cleaning gold and silver as they are ammonia based, that can harm the pearls.

inputs from Dhiraj Kumar, HOD, Pearl Academy of Fashion