Unlike many other possession’ you have, jewelry is something which has an add-on value as an investment too. So, if you value your jewelry, it is essential for you to take good care of it to. Jewelry care is something specific about caring not to lose it as well as maintaining it clean and strong overtime.
When you buy jewelry from the most expensive to even comparatively cheaper ones, you buy them for only one reason that it is beautiful. The shine of the metal or the luster of the gems, or the aesthetic perfection of the design attracts you based on your tastes and budgets. You actually want to wear it for the rest of your life and the longer you want to have the fresh glow, you have to take optimum care in order to maintain it so.
Caring for jewelry
If not appropriately maintained, over time, what you may see is the scratched surfaces or the dull gems. Accidents may happen at any time, but this is not the actual cause of wear in your jewelry. It is mostly the carelessness of the owners which tend to damage jewelry. As jewelry is the most cherished and intimate assets of the users, it is imperative to understand how to protect and care for these treasured possessions.
One thing to remember is that the harder the gem on the Mohs hardness scale, more durable it may generally be. However, a hard gem with a distinct cleavage may also be the most fragile is it is getting hit at a right angle. So, when it comes to stones, hardness may be synonymous with toughness. Toughest gem may typically be the easier to get scratched; even it is less prone to scratch or shatters. These characteristics of each material play crucial to thinking of making, wearing, storing, and remodeling.
Metals more or less have the same characteristic. Purest are silver and gold, which may be more likely to get damaged. You also should consider the metal combination along with add-on gems. In case of proper maintenance, the ideal approach to clean and maintain sterling silver may not be the best approach to caring for gems. On cleaning, you have to consider the entire jewelry, not simply as metals or gems.
Further, we will discuss some baseline tips you should follow in order to maintain the shine and shape of your costly pieces of jewelry for long.
- Protect it from heat and light
Similar to how the intense rays of the sun as UV rays can harm your skin, it can damage the jewelry components also as gemstones. The color and durability of gemstones may get affected adversely by getting exposed to intense solar rays. Some gemstones like topaz, kunzite, amethyst, and shell cameos, etc. are so delicate and comes with high precautionary alerts against light and heat.
Materials like pearl, ivory, etc. will bleach on exposing to light. Amber may darken when get exposed to sun or intense light. Vintage pieces of jewelry like 18K French yellow gold or feather brooch diamond etc. needed to be handled so delicately and to be cleaned only by using plain water and rubbed using a soft cloth.
Exposure to excessive heat also may adversely affect jewelry. A sudden change in temperature will cause scratch or fracture on gems. Heat will cause the removal of moisture present on these gem surfaces, which help keep the natural beauty. Pearls may dry out on getting exposed to heat and crack. Most of the gems will suffer discoloration also on getting exposed to heat. Gems like Opal may turn brown or white with heat and develop small cracks.
- Keep away from harmful chemicals
Similar to light and heat, experts claiming we buy gold also say that chemicals may also damage precious jewelry metals like silver, platinum, and gold. However, not just rare chemicals, but getting exposure to perfumes, hairspray, lotions, and other cosmetics may also cause damage to the surface of jewelry made of pearls or porous gems.
Users should remove all sort of fine jewelry also before using household cleaners or shampoos. It is also advisable to remove ornaments before jumping into the chlorinated water of swimming pools. Cleaning solutions used at home also contain substances like ammonia, which may be harsh on the gems. Chlorine bleach can also cause pigmentation on gold jewelry.
- Storage and cleaning tips
What you do on taking your jewelry off? You need a safe place to store them, right? Many people are not giving it much care to it, and they randomly keep it somewhere. In fact, you have to be very specific about:
- Maintain a safe place to keep your jewelry
- The storing space should not only be safe from theft but also help keep the ornaments without being prone to damage.
It is not ideal to fill a jewelry box by packing all the items together. The best pouch to keep metal jewelry is a quality leather case of cloth bags, which can protect each piece separately from getting damaged or tangles. If there are now separate boxes for each piece, at least try to put them in various cases inside the jewelry box.
Nowadays, the plastic bag is also a cheaper substitute for leather or cloth cases for metal ornaments. However, be careful that plastic should never be used to keep pearl, ivory, opal containing jewelry as these materials need air to retain their natural charm. For other materials, plastic cases do have an advantage that you can directly see the piece of jewelry in it without opening it each time. Using plastic containers is also good for various costume jewelry, which is more susceptible to scratch.
Cleaning jewelry
Similar to storing, cleaning is also essential to maintain the charm of jewelry over time. However, there are some precautions to be taken while cleaning jewelry. Not just in case of gems or pearls, but even gold may get discolored on using some soap. Silver is prone to tarnish even most of the standard sterling silver items are rhodium coated.
All metal ornaments need thorough cleaning to remove dirt, soil, and germs get accumulated to it over time. Detergents bath with the help of mild detergent and warm water is taken in a small bowl is the ideal method to clean metal jewelry. Cold water soaking can also be used alternative for a quick clean after each use. There are standard jewelry cleaners also available in stores, which can be used for a quick dip and clean.
Photo courtesy Still Jewellery.
Thank you for all these tips! Very helpful!
Wow! All these are helpful! Thank you!
Jewelry means a lot to women and to maintain the jewelry they need proper care. I am very fond of jewelry and love to collect them. All these tips are very useful Thanks for sharing your views .