Jewelry Care & Cleaning Tips

This list is not all inclusive and is meant for only a guide.

to care for your jewelry and keep it clean and ready to wear, gently wip off excess make-up & skin oils after each wearing. Use a nub free, 100% cotton cloth and gently wipe the piece clean using only the soft pads of your fingers. Store in jeweler's tissue or a soft bag.

Sterling Silver

To help retard tarnish on sterling silver, wrap the piece in jeweler's tissue paper and place it inside a zip lock bag and seal.

While cleaning sterling silver remember that it is a very soft metal and can easily be marred by a fingernail or wadded piece of fabric pushed roughly against the metal surface. For this reason, use one of the following methods to clean heavier soils and tarnish:

To remover fingerprints, light grease or dirt, add a small amount of mild liquid soap to a half cup of warm water, soak 2-3 minutes, rinse thoroughly with clean water and dry completely before storing in an air tight plastic bag.

Be very careful when using any soaking methos to clean jewelry that has soft sotnes suach as amber, lapis lazuli or turquoise. Extended soaking in any solution may harm the polish on the stone. NEVER use chlorine bleach to clean jewelry.

To remove excessive tarnish, polish with a 100% cotton cloth and a good nonabrasive metal cleaner. Be sure to remove any remnants of the cleaner from gemstones and rinse thoroughly with clean water. NEVER use toothpaste. Toothpaste can damage the surface of the metal requiring the skill of a professional to buff and refinsih. Toothpaste will also scuff the surface on amber, lapis, turquoise and other soft sotnes resulting in the fine polish whcih was produced by the skilled lapidary to be permanently marred.

Do NOT wear sterling silver in salt water. Sterling silver will tarnish very badly in salt water.

Do NOT wear jewelry in pool or hot tubs. Water in pools & hot tubs contain chorline which can damage your jewelry.

Ultrasonic Cleaners

Ultrasonic cleaners are great for cleaning some jewelry but they can damge many genstones and the chemicals are not recommended for pearls and many other fine stones. Repeated use can also loosen the settings and you could loose your precious gems.

Other Common Chemicals & Solutions to Avoid

Chlorine bleach, denatured alcohol, turpentine, acetone, & ammonia can cause harm to jewelry. These chemicals can dull or even pit the surface on softer gemstones. Petroleum based products can actually "melt" amber if allowed to remain on the stone and they can do sifnificant damge to pearls.

Gems Requiring Special Care:

OPALS

Opals require special care. Never use an ultrasonic, never use chemicals and avoid heat. Do not put your opal ring on the window sill when washing your hands or the dishes as strong sunlight can dry oth the water in opals which could cuase hazing or color change.

PEARLS

Protect from scratches. Perfumes and household chemicals which can wear away the nacre or cause color change.

SOFT STONES

Soft stones like lapis, malachite, turquoise, amber and opals can easily be scratched by pin stems and the edges of other jewelry. protect pieces with these gemstones by wrapping them in jeweler's tissue and storing separately.

TIPS

When caring for your jewelry, never use anything but 100% cotton as a polishing cloth.