Don't you want to remove tarnish and help your pieces sparkle for years to come? Maybe you can find some answers from here.
1. Care for your jewelry
- Jewelry should sparkle, but exposure to dust and dirt, lotions and soaps and even sweat, air and moisture can dull your favorite pieces over time and rob them of their gleam.
- Luckily, it's possible to clean most items in your jewelry box without heading to a professional jeweler.
- Restore tarnished silver and dingy gold back to their former selves, get gemstones like diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires glinting again and make those pearls look lustrous once more.
2. How to clean gold?
- To maintain the shine of your solid gold piece, scrub it lightly with a soft-bristled brush using warm water and detergent-free soap.
- Then, buff gently with a clean cloth.
- Store your pieces in a safe, dry place when not worn to protect them from the elements of daily exposure.
3. How to Clean Gemstones
-It's easy to restore the sparkle of precious and semi-precious stones, like diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires set in gold.
-To keep gemstones clean and shiny, use the same instructions as the ones above for cleaning gold, but instead of using water, mix the dish soap with seltzer water.
- Avoid chemicals or excessive temperatures when cleaning.
- Store in a safe, dry place when not worn to protect them from the elements of daily exposure.
4. How to Clean Pearls?
- Because they're porous, pearls hold on to dust and dirt and easily lose their luster. Whether real, cultured or faux, you must clean them with care. Rule number one: Never soak pearls as doing so can cause the string to weaken and break.
- To clean pearls, start by laying the strand on a soft cloth. Dip a clean, small makeup brush into a mixture of warm water and a little mild shampoo. Shake off the excess solution and go over all sides of each pearl. To finish, rinse the pearls with a clean, well-wrung damp cloth. Let the strand dry flat to prevent the string from stretching.
- This no-soak treatment also works well for turquoise and opals (which are also porous stones). Special pearl care cleaning kits, like the one below from Town Talk, include tissue sachets of cleaner and a polishing cloth to make cleaning strands of pearls easier and less tedious.
5. How to Clean Costume Jewelry
- Dab a cloth into a sudsy solution of dish soap and water, wearing it well and gently wipe any smudges or grime.
- Then, rinse with a cloth dampened with plain water. Pat dry and lay the pieces upside down so moisture doesn't soak into the setting.
- Because stones are often glued on rather than set, don't soak costume pieces in water or the glue could loosen and the "gems" could pop off.
6. How to clean Silver Jewelry?
- Use dish soap: Mix a few drops of dish liquid, like Dawn, with warm water. Dip a soft cloth in the solution and rub the silver to remove the tarnish. Rinse with cool water and buff dry with another soft cloth.
- Try baking soda: For heavier tarnish, mix three parts baking soda to one part water. Wet the silver and apply the paste with a soft, lint-free cloth. Work it into the crevices and turn the cloth as it picks up the tarnish. Rinse well and buff dry.
- Reach for toothpaste: In the same way mild abrasives in toothpaste remove stains from your teeth, they can also remove tarnish from silver. Apply a tiny dab of white paste toothpaste (not gel) to your finger or a soft cloth and very gently rub it on the tarnished silver. Then, rinse well with warm water and buff to a shine with a soft cloth.
7. How to Properly Care for Your Jewelry
1. Remove rings — when washing your hands, applying beauty products, cleaning the house, or applying lotions to keep the settings grime-free. And apply perfume before — not after — putting on necklaces, bracelets and earrings.
2. Don’t wear jewelry while swimming — chlorine and saltwater can damage it.
3. Wipe pearls with a soft cloth —after each wear to remove body oils and perfume that can yellow them.
4. Don't let silver siting your jewelry box — wear it! It becomes shinier the more it's worn (the friction slows down tarnishing). When you’re not wearing it, store pieces in ananti-tarnish bag.
4. Get valuable jewelry checked — regularly by a reputable jeweler to make sure the stones are in good shape and the settings are secure.
