Tips & Info on Jewelry Care

Jewelry Care and Jewelry Cleaning Tips

How to Care for Your Jewelry

Cautions when Cleaning Jewelry and Gemstones

Jewelry care and recommendations for cleaning and storing your jewelry. This list is not all inclusive and only provides warnings for some of the most common improper practices used to clean jewelry.

To care for your jewelry and keep it clean and ready to wear, gently wipe off excess make-up and skin oils after each wearing. Use a nub free, 100% cotton cloth and gently wipe the piece clean using only the soft pads of your fingers. Store in jeweler's tissue or a soft bag.

To help retard tarnish on sterling silver, wrap the piece in jeweler's tissue paper and place it inside a plastic zip lock bag and seal.

When cleaning sterling silver remember that it is a very soft metal and can easily be marred by a fingernail or wadded piece of fabric pushed roughly against the metal surface. For this reason, use one of the following methods to clean heavier soils and tarnish:

To remove fingerprints, light grease or dirt, add a small amount of mild liquid soap to a half cup of warm water, soak 2-3 minutes, rinse thoroughly with clean water and dry completely before storing in an air tight plastic bag.

Be very careful when using any soaking method to clean jewelry that has soft stones such as amber, lapis lazuli, or turquoise. Extended soaking in any solution may harm the polish on the stone. Never use chlorine bleach to clean jewelry.

To remove excessive tarnish, polish with a 100% cotton cloth and a good nonabrasive metal cleaner. Be sure to remove any remnants of the cleaner from gemstones and rinse thoroughly with clean water. Never use toothpaste! (see more about this below).

Tips for keeping your jewelry new & shiny

When caring for your jewelry, never use anything but 100% cotton as a polishing cloth since paper, polyester, and coarse fabrics often contain wood fibers or synthetics. These materials may impart fine scratches in the metal, especially on sterling silver.

A polished appearance is the result of the metalsmith's effort to file, sand and buff the metal to a perfectly flat surface. When even minor scratches occur, as seen under a microscope, the surface looks like the ragged edge of a saw blade and light is bounced in and around those scratches like a voice echoing in the Alps. An unmarred surface allows the light to be bounced back smoothly, with no echoes, and results in a highly reflective surface.

Important Warnings about the Care of Fine Jewelry!

Always remove your rings and fine jewelry before using any product that contains bleach! Bleach can cause gold and other metal alloys to breakdown leaving the metal irreparably damaged. This includes swimming pools and bathing in hot tubs as chlorine products are added to prevent bacteria growth.

If you normally use specially purchased jeweler's cloths to keep your jewelry clean and shiny, be sure to use fresh cloths since the dirt and grit left on the cloth from a previous use will now leave scrapes and pits in the piece you are trying to clean and polish.

Never use toothpaste or other abrasives to clean metal or stones. You will find countless websites that recommend toothpaste as a cleaner, but this is not an accepted practice by fine jewelers. Although the abrasives in toothpaste are great for your teeth, they can damage the surface of the metal requiring the skill of a professional to buff and refinish. Toothpaste will also scuff the surface on amber, lapis, turquoise and other soft stones resulting in the fine polish which was produced by the skilled lapidary to be permanently marred.

Ultrasonic Cleaners

Ultrasonic cleaners are great for cleaning some jewelry but they can damage many gemstones and the chemicals are not recommended for pearls and many other fine stones. Repeated use can also loosen the settings and you could lose your precious gems.

Pearls / Freshwater Pearls / Cultured Pearls

Even cultured pearls with thicker coatings are more fragile than most other gemstones, so you must handle them carefully to keep them in the best condition.

Your pearls will stay cleaner if you put them on after you've applied your makeup and perfume.
Be sure to take off your pearl rings before you apply hand and body creams.
Wipe your pearls with a soft, lint-free cloth as soon as you take them off. The cloth can be dampened with water or it can be dry. If damp, allow the pearls to air dry before putting them away.
Dirty pearls can be cleaned with a mild soap and water solution (try Ivory flakes).
Never clean your pearls with solutions that contain ammonia or harsh detergents.
Don't put pearl jewelry in an ultrasonic cleaner.
Don't use abrasive cleaners or rub pearls with abrasive cloth. Both can wear away the nacre coating, leaving you with a plain looking bead.

Storing Pearls

Don't store your pearls with other jewelry, because they can be scratched easily when metal or gemstones rub against them. Find a special slot in your jewelry box for the pearls, or keep them in a soft bag made from chamois or another non-abrasive material.

Your fine pearl necklaces should be restrung periodically so that you're sure the silk or nylon cord holding them is in good shape.

Gems requiring special care:

Opals require special care. Never use an ultrasonic, never use chemicals and avoid heat. Don't put your opal ring on the window sill when washing your hands or the dishes as strong sunlight can dry out the water in opals which could cause hazing or color change.

Pearls. Protect from scratches; perfumes and household chemicals which can wear away the nacre or cause color change.

Soft stones like lapis, malachite, turquoise, amber and opals can easily be scratched by pin stems and the edges of other jewelry. Protect pieces with these gemstones by wrapping them in jeweler's tissue and storing separately.

How to clean your wire jewelry

Frequent cleaning is recommended to maintain true beauty. Salt water, chlorine in swimming pools, soap and perspiration take their toll on wire jewelry. The best maintenance is to remove your wire jewelry when swimming in salt water or swimming pools, also remove your wire jewelry prior to bathing. Wipe your wire jewelry carefully with a soft cloth to keep it clean and free of these elements which oxidizes. The best way to clean in places that a polishing cloth will not reach is very simple and you probably already have what you need in your kitchen. Take a small bowl that will hold about a half quart of water and line it with aluminum foil. Add hot water and a tablespoon of Tide or Arm And Hammer washing powder (not liquid or with bleach) and stir. The boric acid in the washing powder causes a reaction with the aluminum foil and the tarnish will leave the sterling silver and attach its self to the aluminum. Place your wire jewelry in the solution for about 1 minute and rinse with clean water and air dry. If you have a build-up of dirt in hard to reach places, just put a little dish washing liquid in a bowl of water and soak over night. This will usually loosen the dirt enough that it will release itself from the wire jewelry, if this does not work, use a soft tooth brush to loosen the dirt and soak it again. To keep your wire jewelry from tarnishing when not being worn, store it wrapped in a soft cloth and placed in a zip lock plastic bag. What causes sterling silver and gold filled wire to tarnish is air, and when it is not in use the more you can keep it sealed the less it will tarnish. This works for any jewelry and works especially well for sterling silver.

Cleaning Your Swarovski Crystals

To ensure the lasting beauty of your Swarovski Jewelry, do not use sonic cleaners, boiling water or commercial jewelry cleaners. Jewelry cleaners usually contain ammonia or alcohol which can have a damaging effect on the plating.

Swarovski recommends that you occasionally polish each piece with a soft lint-free cloth. If your jewelry is very dirty, wash your jewelry using warm water, a mild dish detergent and a soft bristled brush. Rinse thoroughly with clean water prior to drying with a soft lint-free cloth. Please note: Do not wash the Swarovski simulated pearls. These should be buffed with a soft dry cloth.

Also, it is a good idea to put your Swarovski Jewelry on after applying perfume, hand cream or hair spray. Never wear your jewelry in the bath, in bed, doing dishes or when exercising. This can cause unreasonable stress and wear and tear. Store your jewelry in the soft pouch or box provided by Swarovski to prevent scratching. Chains and necklaces will retain their shine and glitter best if they are hung up when not being worn. Do not store your Swarovski Jewelry in areas of excessive heat or sun exposure.

At Home Tarnish-Busting Remedies
Article extract from Beading Daily.com

Tarnish-Busting Formula
1. Choose a plastic or glass (never metal) pan that is deep enough so that when filled with water your tarnished jewelry will be covered.
2. Put a piece of aluminum foil in the bottom of the pan.
3. Pour near-boiling water into the pan.
4. Add a couple tablespoons of baking soda to the water.
5. Place the tarnished jewelry onto the piece of aluminum.
6. If necessary, add more baking soda to the dish until you see the tarnish coming off your piece. You should get a slight bubbling effect with an odd odor.

As soon as I got home that day I tried it, and guess what? It worked like a charm! I found I needed to take a soft toothbrush to some of the metal beads to get the tarnish completely off, but it didn’t take much. I’m not sure how the chemical reaction would affect gemstones or other beads, and I would never try it with a piece strung on silk, cotton, or nylon thread because of the hot water. But it went perfectly for this bracelet made of sterling silver, freshwater pearls, and crystals strung on beading wire.

KaReNNSToNe

a different kind of handmade jewelry..