How To Clean Your Jewellery

#1...BE CAREFUL

First and foremost treat your jewellery with care! Caring properly for your jewellery will keep it looking great and lasting a long time. As a rule, everything else should go on before your jewellery. Creams, make-up, hairspray, perfume and the like have chemicals that can leave a film on the jewellery as well as cause harm to the metals and gemstones that your jewellery is made with.

If you have an active lifestyle be sure to take care when doing things that could be hard on your jewellery like gardening, mountain biking or lifting weights. Metals and gemstones are fairly resilient but what you really want to do is avoid putting your jewellery in harms way. Definitely don't drum on concrete counter tops with your ring on (true story)!!! 

If you jewellery is scratched (don't worry all metals scratch, I wrote a blog post about it here), you won't be able to take care of this one at home, sorry! You will need a jeweller like me;) who can use something stronger to remove scratches with a little more power behind it. See what I mean over there --->>>

Come for a visit and I will give it a once over on my polishing lathe and get it back to looking new!

CLEANING GOLD & STERLING SILVER JEWELLERY

Taking care of tarnish is probably your biggest battle when it comes to cleaning gold & sterling silver jewellery. When exposed to the air metals can tarnish. It happens less when you are wearing it as your body's natural oils help keep tarnish at bay. Try to get into the habit of storing your jewellery when not being worn. This goes a long way to help with tarnish and can prevent your jewellery from getting needlessly scratched.  

Sterling Silver jewellery may also tarnish while you are wearing if for the first few times - don't panic! This is caused by the PH balance in your skin reacting with the copper in the sterling silver alloy. It should resolve itself and return to the tarnish-free surface you originally had just by wearing it. If it doesn't go away there could be other reasons so get in touch and we will see what needs to be done.     

Chemical dips & solutions are great at removing tarnish super fast but are pretty harsh chemically and just plain bad for the environment, they also strip off a small layer of metal. In my studio I clean clients jewellery by making a small bath of warm water and a bio-degradable soft soap, using an old soft-bristled used toothbrush to dip and lightly scrub the tarnish away. It even safe to use on a piece of jewellery that has diamonds, gemstones, beads or pearls. TIP: Make sure you thoroughly dry your gold and silver jewellery after wear and cleaning before storing it. And when storing it try using a air-tight baggie or container for more tarnish resistance.  

CLEANING YOUR DIAMONDS & Pearls

You would be amazed what you can do just using an old soft toothbrush and a warm water bath. Dipping it in warm water and gently scrubbing under your diamonds and gemstones may just be all you need to get them sparking again.

If you have an at-home ultrasonic cleaner go for it! If you need more intense cleaning bring it by the shop and I can give it a more professional clean - free of charge!

The pic to the left is a BEFORE & AFTER - I just used warm water and a soft-bristled toothbrush! For most of your jewellery cleaning needs you already have what you need at home already.

Now, pearls tend to really show when they are dirty and lackluster. To get them back to their natural beauty, soak them in a warm water and bio-degradable soft soap bath for about 15 seconds, wipe with a cotton cloth and lay flat to dry. Never use anything abrasive to clean or dry your pearls. To keep your pearls looking their best for longer, store them on their own in a cotton bag or box to avoid them getting scratched.

WHEN IT'S PAST CARING FOR

When your jewellery is at the end of it's life and can't be cleaned or repaired easily, don't be too sad. In most cases your metals and stones can reworking into a new piece of jewellery and if not then you should be able use the metal as credit towards something new (at least you can with me). If you have jewellery that is past it's prime, unused, out-of-date or just doesn't do anything for you, I am able to help you re-make it into something updated and wearable, keeping all of the sentimentality intact for future generations.

Have a jewellery cleaning question or need some advice about what to do with your old jewellery? Don't hesitate to get in touch!