To keep your accessories in pristine condition, check out our Jewelry Care and Cleaning Guide.
Jewelry care is not just making sure you don’t lose your valuable pieces, but also cleaning them. In fact, you should be cleaning your pieces every two weeks to remove daily dirt and grime. But how do you clean your jewelry?
Most people have at least one piece of silver in their jewelry collection. You can buy silver polishing or cleaning kits. If you cannot find one of these kits, you can also try out this DIY solution. To prevent your silver from tarnishing, you can use a few drops of dish soap and water. Dip a soft cloth in the solution and rub the pieces to remove any tarnishing. Once you finish cleaning, you will need to rinse it off with cool water and then buff it dry with another soft cloth. Toothpaste or baking soda works for pieces that have large amounts of tarnishing.
This classic piece of jewelry is delicate and can lose its luster after time. While cleaning pearl pieces, you need to be careful. Never soak your pearls. Soaking can cause them to weaken and break. You can buy a pearl cleaning kit, or you can try a homemade version. If you do want to try DIY cleaning, you need to follow these steps. First, lay the piece on a soft cloth, take a makeup brush and dunk it into warm water and shampoo. You can use baby shampoo or a non-fragrant adult shampoo. From there, you will take the brush and go over each pearl. Repeat this step until your pearls are clean. Finish by rinsing the pearls off with a well-wrung damp cloth. Leave the strand laying flat to let it dry.
Gold is a precious metal that many people wear. You will want to be gentle with these pieces while you are cleaning them. Set up a bowl with water and a few drops of dish soap. Place your items in a small bowl. Swish the gold around in the bowl with the solution for a few minutes. Larger pieces may need to soak in the solution for five minutes to remove all dirt. Then, lay the pieces on a soft cloth and grab a soft-bristle toothbrush to brush through the chains, links, and crevices. After this step, place all the jewelry back in the bowl and rinse underwater. Finish by buffing dry with a soft cloth.
Gemstones like diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies need cleaning as well, especially if you wear them daily like engagement rings or class rings. You will need a soft-bristle toothbrush, soap, seltzer water, strainer, and a soft cloth to get the job done. Cleaning these stones is very similar to cleaning gold. Take your toothbrush and clean the gems. The carbonation from the seltzer water will loosen dirt and grime stuck in settings and other areas. You can place the pieces in a strainer to rinse underwater as well. Once you finish cleaning, you can buff it dry with your soft cloth.
Costume or fashion jewelry is an affordable way of accessorizing your outfit and standing out from the crowd. If you love accessories or jewelry, you most likely have many pieces of costume jewelry. And just because it is cheaper, does not mean that there are cleaning tips you need to follow. To clean these pieces, dunk a cloth into a water and dish soap solution to gently wipe away any smudges, dirt, or grime. You will then wipe the piece off with a damp cloth. Repeat these steps until you are satisfied. Pat the costume jewelry dry and place it upside down. Do not soak your fashion jewelry. Most of the time, these pieces are glued together, and water can loosen this glue, and you can lose beading or gems.
Since you now know how to clean your jewelry, it is now time to understand how to care for it properly. First and foremost, you need the proper storage unit to hold all your pieces when you are not wearing them. To prevent scratches, dents, and tarnishing, you will want to store your items in a dark, cool, dry place like a jewelry box or cabinet. Jewelers recommend taking off your jewelry when washing your hands or body, cleaning, swimming, applying lotions or beauty products, and exercising. Moisture and chemicals can damage your jewelry. It would help if you also got your fine jewelry checked by a reputable source or specialist every couple of years to ensure that it is in good condition.
Now that you have a proper jewelry care routine down, it’s time to start taking care of all your pieces. If you ever need help, our PROs are here to answer any of your fashion questions.
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