How Do I Care For My Jewelry?

Frequent cleaning of your jewelry is recommended to maintain it's true beauty. Salt water, chlorine in swimming pools, soap and perspiration take their toll. The best maintenance is to remove your jewelry when swimming in salt water or swimming pools, also remove your jewelry prior to bathing.

Wipe your jewelry carefully with a soft cloth to keep it clean and free of these elements which oxidizes. The best way to clean in places that a polishing cloth will not reach is very simple and you probably already have what you need in your kitchen.

To clean jewelry another method, that works fast, take a small bowl that will hold about a half quart of water and line it with aluminum foil. Add hot water and a tablespoon of powedered water softener. I use Calgon. (Ask a clerk for it if you can't find it) and stir. The boric acid in the washing powder causes a reaction with the aluminum foil and the tarnish will leave the silver and attach its self to the aluminum.

Place you're the jewelry in the solution for about 1 minute and rinse with clean water and air dry. If you have a build-up of dirt in hard to reach places, just put a little dish washing liquid in a bowl of water and soak over night. This will usually loosen the dirt enough that it will release itself from the jewelry, if this does not work, use a soft tooth brush to loosen the dirt and soak it again.

To keep your jewelry from tarnishing when not being worn, store it wrapped in a soft cloth and placed in a zip lock plastic bag. What causes silver to tarnish is air, and when it is not in use the more you can keep it sealed the less it will tarnish. This method is not for pearls. Rather it is for semi-precious stones and silver.

Pearls are very soft and need special care. They never should be tossed on top of or next to other gems in a jewelry box. Store them in a sealed jewelry pouch.

If a pearl necklace is regularly worn, as it should be, some of the pearls will constantly be in close contact with the woman's skin on her neck at the shoulder line.

The pearls in the necklace will gradually absorb acid from the skin and the acid will slowly eat into the spherical pearl. Over time the pearl will not only lose its luster, but will become barrel-shaped.

You can slow this process by wiping the pearls with a soft cloth after wearing them. Besides being soft, pearls are easily damaged by chemicals like perfume, vinegar and lemon juice. Heat can turn pearls brown or dry them out and make them crack. Dry air can also damage pearls. Most safe deposit vaults have very dry air and can damage pearls. When taking off a pearl ring, grasp the shank, or metal part, rather than the pearl. This will prevent the pearl from loosening and coming into contact with skin oil on your hand. Because of their delicate nature, special care must be taken when cleaning.

Only use jewelry cleaners labeled as safe for pearls. Never use an ultrasonic cleaner. Never steam-clean pearls. Never use (or expose pearls) to dish or wash detergents, bleaches, powdered cleansers, baking soda, or ammonia-based cleaners (like Windex). Never use toothbrushes, scouring pads or abrasive materials to clean pearls. Do not wear pearls when their string is wet. Wet strings stretch and attract dirt, which is hard to remove. Do not hang pearls to dry. Take your pearls off when applying cosmetics, hair spray, and perfume, or when showering or swimming. Avoid wearing pearls with rough fabrics like Shetland wool.

Cleaning Pearls After you wear pearls, just wipe them off with a soft cloth or chamois, which may be dry or damp. This will prevent dirt from accumulating and keep perspiration, which is slightly acidic, from eating away at the pearl nacre. You can even use a drop of olive oil on the cloth to help maintain their luster.

If pearls have not been kept clean and are very dirty, they can be cleaned by your jeweler or they can be cleans using special pearl cleaner. Be careful using other types of jewelry cleaner or soap. Some liquid soaps, such as Dawn, can damage pearls. Pay attention to the areas around the drill holes where dirt may tend to collect. After washing your pearls, lay them flat in a moist kitchen towel to dry. When the towel is dry, your pearls should be dry.