Ken NC
Member
I am looking at a 1890's Smith with pearl grips in good condition. Understand they can be fragile as glass, so I will be replacing them (gently) with some reproduction grips for a little shooting, then clean them up and return them to the gun for storage.
Any suggestions? What I can glean from the www on pearl jewelry is: NEVER use anything even remotely abrasive, no strong detergents, no solvents. ONLY use pearl cleaner, or perhaps a very mild hand soap, or perhaps salt water. Perhaps buff with a chamois cloth. Finish buffing with a drop or two of olive oil, or maybe mineral oil, to restore natural oils in the nacre. These instructions, are for round pearls, but they seem logical to apply to mother-of-pearl.
Any suggestions? What I can glean from the www on pearl jewelry is: NEVER use anything even remotely abrasive, no strong detergents, no solvents. ONLY use pearl cleaner, or perhaps a very mild hand soap, or perhaps salt water. Perhaps buff with a chamois cloth. Finish buffing with a drop or two of olive oil, or maybe mineral oil, to restore natural oils in the nacre. These instructions, are for round pearls, but they seem logical to apply to mother-of-pearl.
