I wanted to follow up from my last post where I built the jewelry holder and talk a bit about caring and cleaning your jewelry.
No, I don't make it a regular habit to clean my jewelry.
However, I do keep great care of my jewelry (both real and faux) and believe that like anything worth having, you need to give it the attention it deserves in order to have it for any length of time.
I have several pieces of jewelry.
I'm mostly a silver/white gold gal, but there is the occasional piece of gold mixed in.
Let's define the different types of jewelry.
FINE JEWELRY
This is what people commonly refer to as "real."
14KT - 18KT white, rose, or yellow gold, platinum, and titanium.
Sterling silver (.925) is considered under fine jewelry, however, most fine jewelers use the traditional golds and platinum in their works as a matter of cost and preference.
These jewelry pieces are much stronger over time due to their metals.
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FASHION JEWELRY
This type of jewelry is made with metals that are not in fine jewelry. Brass, copper, bronze, aluminum, or a base metal (combinations of different metals), plated metals, leathers, and fabrics.
These metals tend to have less strength, tarnish and are unable to return to their original luster, and are often not as carefully crafted like fine jewelry.
You can find real gemstones in fashion jewelry, but of course, these tend to be more commonly found stones and are graded as lesser than stones used with fine jewelry.
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I have both types of jewelry and love each.
It's a matter of preference. I fully believe there is NOTHING WRONG with having any piece of jewelry that brings you joy.
Caring for them, however, is different.
Let me show you how I do it.
I selected several pieces from my collection as I wanted to share the different ways to clean them.
First and foremost, ALWAYS have your most valuable pieces insured and periodically checked. Things like a diamond engagement ring need to have their prongs checked and periodically professionally cleaned by a jeweler. It can mean the difference between keeping and losing a stone or stones.
Items with pearls need to be handled carefully.
Pearls and Opals should only be cleaned professionally.
However, you can use a soft cloth on them to wipe away any make-up and body oils that collect from wear.
This pair of Silpada pearl earrings are set with sterling, so I use my sterling cloth to gently clean that part as well as to wipe down the pearls.
Pieces that have special meaning and are considered to be vintage or antique also need to be handled with care.
This sterling and marcasite pin from the Edwardian era needs to be handled carefully in case any of the stones are loose due to age.
I always inspect them closely to see if there are signs of damage and wear.
I use a SOFT dry toothbrush to gently move away any dust or dirt that had collected on the piece.
I then wet the toothbrush and dip it into some baking soda.
I get a good slab of it on the brush.
Holding the pin carefully by its post, GENTLY scrub with the baking soda and water.
This helps to loosen any embedded dirt without harming the metal or the marcasite.
I then gently dab it dry and buff the sterling on the front and back with my sterling cloth.
Now it's shiny and ready to wear.
I recently purchased this ring from a local jeweler. I love the diamond halos and the cushion cut of the stone.
Rings tend to get the dirtiest of all jewelry because we wear them on our hands and we use our hands the most.
They collect skin oils, dust, dirt, debris, food, lotions, and a whole host of other things that I think would really gross us out if we were aware of them.
Of all my jewelry, I clean my rings the most.
I like to use vinegar (apple cider or white) and water to gently soak my "real" items.
I usually mix a 2:1 ration of water to vinegar in a glass bowl. I know some people like to use sudsy ammonia as well, I just rarely have that on hand and the smell bothers me a lot, so I stick to vinegar.
I let those items sit in the mixture for just a few minutes.
I remove them and use the SOFT toothbrush to gently scrub in between the setting and loosen that debris.
Next, I "wear" the ring on a finger and let the hot water cascade over it. This too helps to loosen and wash away anything in the ring that's causing it to be cloudy and dirty.
If you do not have a way to cover the hole in your sink, place a washcloth on the bottom of the sink, over the hole. This way, if you do accidentally drop any piece of jewelry in the sink as you are cleaning it will catch on the washcloth. This will also keep any pieces from scratching or chipping as well.
Here is the (before) necklace that I had with the ring in my vinegar and water mixture.
Here it is afterward. Not a super dramatic difference, but definitely cleaner and shinier.
This is a great example of high-end fashion jewelry. This Silpada ring is mostly brass metal with real, but semi-precious stones.
It's one of my fav pieces because it's a statement ring.
I cleaned this like I did the pin. A bit of water and baking soda with a soft dry cloth afterward.
It cleaned up well and looks much better than the before photo above.
I would not recommend using a brass polish of this type of ring. I would not want the stones damaged by the harsh chemicals in a brass or metal polish.
Like pearls, turquoise and onyx need to also be handled carefully.
This necklace is reversible, with each stone on opposing sides. This means that when I wear it my skin oils are getting on the stone closest to my skin.
A gentle polish with the sterling cloth is all it needs. If I think that the stones are needing a bit more, I can use a cloth dampened with water to gently clean them off.
This sterling bar necklace also tends to get a lot of skin oils on the back side where it lays flat at the neckline.
It will also show signs of tarnish more readily because of the width of the bar.
I use the sterling cloth to clean this.
The trick is to place it flat on a towel and rub the sterling cloth over both sides in both directions.
I do not recommend that you sandwich the necklace between the cloth a pull.
The part when the sterling chain meets the sterling bar can be a fragile point.
If I pull the necklace through the cloth I run the risk of damaging or breaking this connection.
On regular sterling necklaces, I have not problem pulling the chain through.
You can see how dirty one of the necklaces was when it was pulled through the cloth.
Once all the pieces are done I let them sit and thoroughly dry on a soft towel.
Then I put them away.
I store my sterling with these anti-tarnish strips. It really helps to keep my sterling tarnish free and they are a cheap investment.
Keeping your jewelry in tip top shape will result in you having those pieces for a very long time.
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