Regular care and cleaning of your jewelry will help your jewelry piece keep its beauty and help prevent stones from getting loose. Following a few easy guidelines will help ensure that your jewelry pieces last for generations.
We recommend putting on your jewelry after you have applied your cosmetics and other products like hairspray and perfume. This helps to prevent a film on your jewelry and dull its appearance. To avoid excess damage do not wear your jewelry while swimming, sleeping or doing household chores. This will help to protect your jewelry from water, dirt, and chemicals.
Removing your jewelry during strenuous work or exercise is also a good idea. Diamonds are the hardest substance on earth but they can shatter in two with a single well-placed blow. Rubies and sapphires are the toughest gems but even they can chip if hit sharply. Take particular care if you have a ring set with a gem variety with a hardness less than 7 or an included stone. Even the hardest gemstones can be vulnerable to breakage if they have inclusions that weaken the crystal structure.
Lotions, powders, soaps, and natural skin oils can build up on jewelry, cutting down on the brilliance of the gems. Rings in particular tend to collect dust and soap behind the stone, particularly if you wear them all the time.
To clean transparent crystalline gemstones, simply soak them in water with a touch of gentle soap or ammonia. If necessary, use a soft toothbrush to scrub behind the stone. After brushing, simply rinse with lukewarm water and allow them to dry. Grease can be removed from plain karat gold jewelry by dipping it into ordinary rubbing alcohol. Rubbing with a soft chamois cloth is an effective way to keep gold jewelry shining.
Avoid immersing your jewelry in chemicals like chlorine. It’s a good idea to remove jewelry before entering a chlorinated pool or hot tub or putting your hands into water with bleach. Chlorine, especially at high temperatures, can permanently damage or discolor your gold jewelry.
There are many types of small machines on the market that will clean jewelry in a matter of minutes using high-frequency sound. These ultrasonic cleaners can be a convenient way to quickly clean your jewelry at home. However, ultrasonic cleaners can damage some jewelry, particularly pieces set with pearls or colored gemstones.
In addition to cleaning your jewelry properly storing it is just as important. Store your jewelry in a clean, dry place: a fabric-lined jewelry case or box with compartments and dividers is ideal. If you prefer to use an ordinary box, wrap each piece individually in soft tissue paper. Don’t jumble your jewelry pieces in a drawer or jewelry case. Store each piece of gemstone jewelry separately so that harder stones don’t scratch softer ones Store fine jewelry carefully; don’t just toss it in a jewelry box.
The metals, gemstones and other materials can get scratched, especially if they are softer gemstones. The hardest stones — such as diamonds, sapphires and rubies — are the least vulnerable to scratching, but they still need to be handled with care. Wrap pieces individually in tissue paper or velvet, or arrange them carefully in a jewelry box so that they do not touch each other.
With a bit of care you should be able to enjoy wearing your jewelry for many years and they will still look like the day you bought them.
Treat each piece of fine jewelry you own with respect and you will enjoy it forever.