First off, you WANT to keep your jewelry looking like new for as long as you can. Unless you need your jewelry to imitate old, worn out pieces for a movie or some other purpose, there is no reason for you to want otherwise. New jewelry looks better, more polished, highly finished and glamorous. With time, however, extreme wear and tear may lead to a dull looking, scratched piece of metal with a dirty, unpolished rock at the top – you don’t want that to happen to your favorite and most intimate accessories, especially your wedding and engagement rings! No. Way.
Lucky for you, there’s someone who cares – yes, you’re welcome.
Today, we’ll share some of the most important tips on jewelry care. Keep in mind that we do not suggest you clean your jewelry with regular household cleaning substances if you can’t find it in this article or do not know how it will react with the jewelry metal. Soaps and detergents can be VERY harsh and permanently damage your jewelry. Even while wearing daily jewelry there are some important precautions you need to take.
DO NOT let your jewelry come in contact with oils, soaps, perfumes and chemicals that can be damaging or that you know nothing about. When washing your hands, take off your rings.
ALWAYS dry your jewelry with a soft cloth before storing it. Storing even slightly wet jewelry is a big no-no.
REMOVE your jewelry while doing sports, working out, swimming or doing any heavy activity. Please do not keep your jewelry on while you take a quick shower
DO NOT keep your jewelry on while applying lotions or creams
LIGHT AND HEAT can actually damage your jewelry. Unnecessary exposure to harsh amounts of any is inadvisable. Prolonged exposure to excess heat and light can make the color fade and decrease the durability. Try to avoid excess exposure as much as you can
BE GENTLE when cleaning. You can use a soft toothbrush to get rid of that unyielding dirt but you should always prefer a jewelry cleaner. Use it as directed without scrubbing. Make sure it has acceptable levels of cleaning agents
STORE jewelry in plastic Ziploc bags or jewelry pouches separately to avoid scratching. Make sure you store the items in a clean, dry and cool place to avoid dust, moisture and heat – those things are really bad for your jewelry
USE only a jewelry cloth for buffing the jewelry
SCHEDULE regular appointments with your jeweler to check for loose stones but keep an eye out yourself as well. Keep checking for any movement of stones. If there is movement, pack it in a safe Ziploc bag and visit your jeweler immediately to get it fixed
KEEP your jewelry away from chemicals. No secret here. You know the basics of chemistry – active chemicals tend to react with other substances. Turns out metals – gold, silver, platinum and the rest – can be severely damaged by exposure to harmful chemicals
ULTRASONIC CLEANERS should be used with precaution. Many colored gemstones are treated to improve clarity, color and appearance. This treatment may be reversed or impeded by ultrasonic cleaners. Moreover, the vibration from these cleaners can dislodge gems and loosen them up a bit. So take extra precaution as need be. As a rule, DO NOT use ultrasonic cleaners with
- organic gems like pearls, amber, ivory and coral
- heat-treated gemstones
- gemstones with surface inclusions, or fracture-filled stones
- gems like tanzanite, lapis lazuli, opal, topaz, feldspar, turquoise, fluorite, iolite, kunzite, zircon among others that are especially susceptible to heat and temperature changes