So you have bought or been given, a beautiful piece of jewelry. And you love to wear it of course! But after a while, all jewelry becomes slightly less sparkly. Do you need to rush to your local jeweler for a scrub or…?
Well, no…
Well, the answer is no. Although your local jeweler might be happy to see you and if he or she delivers very good customer care; they might even clean it for free!
Special Cloths
But if you prefer, it can be easily done at home. There are some special cloths available, probably your jeweler will have them too, that contain a chemical that cleans your jewelry. This is great to wipe off quickly dirt and add sparkle to golden and silver jewelry. Be careful to not ever use this on pearls!
Damp cloth or toothbrush?
You can also take a damp cloth or a very soft toothbrush and some lukewarm water with soap (dishwasher soap will do). You can either emerge the jewel or just use it for the brush or cloth. Just softly rub it and dirt will come off. Make sure you dry it with a very soft cloth (scratches should be avoided!) and leave to dry completely before putting it on.
Gemstones
Now there are some things to remember. If you have valuable gemstones like rubies, emeralds and sapphire, be very careful. They are not as hard as the precious metal and not as hard as diamond. Always ask your jeweler for advice how to store and clean your jewelry. But the best way is to wear it with care and never keep it on whilst cleaning with chemicals, swimming or sports. Also, you should think about getting a good box to store away your jewelry. It might be a little bit of a hassle to think about taking your jewelry off, but you will prevent a lot of common problems that jewelers see when people come to them with damaged jewelry.
I had a jewelry store for 6 years in Italy and have some experience with clients. My advice would be: try to be always honest when something goes broken. It happened so many times that people would return with their jewelry that they purchased just a while ago, claiming that they have done nothing wrong with it. It's not about being wrong or right, but jewelers can tell very easily if you slept with jewelry ( there are a lot of necklaces and earrings that are just to fragile for this) worked with chemicals, had someone tear it ( it happens! Especially if you have children) or just maybe you banged against the window of your car f.e. ( I did that too). Don't blame the piece of jewelry. Give your jeweler a chance to make a gesture and help you out. When something is really wrong with the piece, they can tell that too and they will, if it's a good jeweler, be more than happy to compensate you, replace it or repair it for free.
Your jeweler
Most jewelers have an ultrasound cleaning method. These practically shake off all dirt and afterwards they (might) use a box of very soft sawdust to dry your jewel. The only thing to watch carefully here is stones. If some of your settings are a bit loose, a stone might fall out. Discuss this, of course, with your jeweler. Check the jewelry together to avoid discussing afterwards.
How to keep your jewelry in perfect condition?
There are a few tips:
- Do take rings off when you do your gardening or housekeeping for example.
- Don’t wear it when you go to practice sport.
- Store it in a dry and soft place.
- Choose rhodium plated silver jewelry. It won’t become black!
- Clean rings underneath regularly.
One last tip!
And I always recommend: take off your jewelry when you go to sleep!
Hope this was useful!
J
Comments (12)
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Suzan Halterman
Thanks for sharing. I had no idea that rubies are not as hard as diamonds. They look kind of like diamonds so I always thought they were as tough as diamonds. I love rubies and have a ton of them. I need to reevaluate how I take care of them.
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Diana
Thanks a lot for sharing your impressive post with us. I found your tips pretty effective for me.
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Kody Loveless
Thanks for sharing. I had no idea that a damp cloth could help clean my jewelry. I have been looking for good ways to keep my bling clean.
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Ben Allen
I appreciate the tips on how to keep your jewelry in better condition for longer. I had no idea that there were special cloths for cleaning jewelry in particular. My wife has always been obsessed with keeping her ring and jewelry clean, I will be sure to share this information with her.
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Esther Ligthart
you are most welcome Ben :-) Thanks for leaving your much appreciated comment!
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Ellen Hughes
I like that you suggested taking your rings off when you're doing housekeeping chores to keep them in perfect condition. This is probably the reason why the ring that my husband gave me was damaged. Well, I never take it off when I do my activities, so I will make sure to have it repaired. I will make sure to also follow all your tips after its repairs.
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Esther Ligthart
Thanks so much Ellen. I am sure that many agree that it isn't a bad thing at all to have jewelry that shows it's been used and loved. But in the long run, it could ruin gemstones and the settings of the stone. Just take it off with certain activities, like you would with a cashmere sweater :-)
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Sharon Wilson-Smith
It sure was nice to know that there are special cloths that contain chemicals that are useful in cleaning your gold jewelry. This is a good tip for me because I want to buy a set of gold jewelry as a birthday gift for myself. What I want is to keep my jewelry sparkling for years to come so I can proudly wear them on special events. Thanks for sharing this.
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carlos santiago
I like that you said that you must take your rings off when you need to do some housekeeping chores in order to care for them. My fiance and I are planning to find a jeweler that can make our wedding rings. We want to make sure that our wedding rings can keep their sparkle and beauty for years to come, so we're looking for ways to make sure that they will not fade at any time soon. Thanks for sharing this.
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Carolien Samson
You got me when you said that you must take off your jewelry when you're practicing sport and doing housekeeping tasks. What you said was what I failed to do. My husband and I played volleyball last week, and I forgot to take off my bracelet. It was damaged, so I'll have it professionally repaired. I will do all your tips from now on.
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serena wilson
Thanks for reminding us that jewelry should not be worn while playing sport to keep it in perfect condition. My husband is planning to buy a piece of stone jewelry for me because my birthday is just around the corner. This is an important gift for me because he is not really used to giving gifts. I do play badminton every other day to keep my body fit, so I'll be sure to remove all the pieces of jewelry while playing.
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Skylar Williams
Thank you for your tip to use a damp cloth and soft toothbrush to clean your jewelry. My sister wants to buy her girlfriend some jewelry but she isn't sure where to go. I'll be sure to help her find a place and to pass this tip along to her once she's found the jewelry.
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