Caring For Your Jewelry

It is greatly rewarding to buy jewelry, be able to wear it for years - even your whole lifetime - and still have it looking like the way it was when you bought it. Proper maintenance and care of your jewelry will ensure that you will get years of pleasurable wear out of it. Caring for your jewelry is not difficult, if you know how to properly do it.

Proper Organization

Separate real jewelry from faux jewelry or imitation pieces and group them according to their kinds, or else they would get tangled or scratched. Group your necklaces together, keep your bracelets together, gather your earrings together, and collect all your anklets together. Storing your jewelry in plastic bags with interlocking or Ziploc seals will prevent your jewelry's tarnishing.

They're Not Sleeping Companions

Your diamonds may be your best friend, but they don't make the best bed companions. Do not sleep wearing your jewelry, especially if you have the kind with specially set stones.

Sleeping with your diamond bracelet or your three-stone sapphire ring can lead to the loss of your gemstones. Your jewelry will get snagged on the linens and sheets, you will tend to tug it loose, and this will cause you to damage your stone's settings, chip your gemstones, or lose your gemstones altogether. Therefore, never sleep wearing your jewelry.

When Wearing Becomes Harming

Cleaning products, turpentine, denatured alcohol, acetone, ammonia, chlorine and bleach usually do a lot of harm to jewelry. Most of these harsh chemicals will dissolve the metals (the prongs) holding your gemstones in place. They can also do significant damage to pearls and dull the surface of gemstones or severely discolor them.

Therefore, never garden, wash or clean anything, or stay long in a chlorinated pool wearing your jewelry. Put hair sprays, cosmetics, and perfume on first before putting on your jewelry to protect them from the damage that these chemicals can cause.

Wipe It Clean

After wearing, wipe your jewelry with a soft cloth to remove excess make up, perspiration, body oils, salts, and dirt. After wiping them clean, gently store your jewelry in your jewelry box. Pearls, however, should be stored in a separate pouch as they are quite delicate.

When cleaning your jewelry, there are three kinds of cleaners that you can use: chemical, cloth, natural or store-bought cleaners. Natural stones should not be immersed in chemical cleaners. Instead, opt for a soft cloth to clean these stones. If you are using chemical cleaners, make sure that you wash off the chemical with water afterwards or this could cause severe discoloration of your jewelry.

Advisably, when cleaning, it is better to just use mild liquid soaps and warm water. Soak your jewelry for about three minutes and remove them to dry. Ensure that they are completely dry before storing them. When soaking, be very careful with stones like turquoise or amber as soaking could reduce their luster. Again, never use chlorine bleach for cleaning or soaking.

If your jewelry is tarnished, you could try using nonabrasive metal cleaners. Do not use toothpaste! Toothpaste can damage the surface of the metals. It will also scrape the surface of soft stones like lapiz, amber and turquoise.

Visiting your jeweler at least once a year to have your jewelry checked and professionally cleaned would be a great way to maintain your jewelry.

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