Jewelry Care 101: Tips for Keeping your Jewelry New, Clean, and Safe - By: Allan Michael Taylor

The world of jewelry care can be daunting, especially if you own a variety of precious metals, gems, and stones. While each piece of jewelry requires slightly different maintenance, there are some general jewelry care tips that you can follow at home to help keep your jewelry clean and brilliant, while preventing long-term wear and damage.

These jewelry care guidelines should be followed in addition to regular cleanings by a professional jeweler. Professional cleanings allow a jeweler to check the settings and other aspects of your jewelry, preventing loss and permanent damage.

General Jewelry Care: Cleaning

Nearly all jewelry, even pearls, can be cleaned using mild soap diluted with water. Do not soak your jewelry, as many of the chemicals and additives in water are damaging. Heavy dirt or grime can be removed with a soft, natural fiber brush. Dry and buff your jewelry with a 100% cotton cloth.

Jewelry care for metals often requires a little extra work. Tarnished metal can be cleaned by buffing it with silver polish on a cotton cloth, washing before and after in mild, soapy water.

Jewelry Care Cleaning Tip: Use filtered or distilled water to clean your jewelry. Treated water is full of chemicals, including chlorine, which is especially damaging to many materials used in jewelry. Untreated water is full of natural minerals that may cause similar effects.

General Jewelry Care: Storage

Storing your jewelry is of utmost importance when it comes to jewelry care and maintenance. Many metals, stones, and gems are easily scratched by other pieces of jewelry, so keeping them in separate compartments in your jewelry box can be one of the easiest ways to prevent damage.

Natural elements can also be particularly harmful to the components of your jewelry. Water, sunlight, and humidity all cause permanent wear and damage.

Don't leave your jewelry lying on a sunny windowsill in the bathroom or bedroom. And jewelry should never be left or stored in the bathroom at all, due to the humid environment.

When it comes to jewelry care and storage, the best place to keep jewelry is in a padded jewelry box with separate compartments. For optimal jewelry care, wrap each piece of jewelry in tissue paper or cotton cloth and place in separate compartments. Some metals tarnish easily when exposed to the elements, even inside a jewelry box. To prevent excessive tarnishing, metals can be wrapped in tissue paper or cotton cloth and sealed inside a zip-lock baggy.

General Jewelry Care: Preventing Damage and Loss

When it comes to jewelry care, properly storing your jewelry is one of the best ways to prevent damage, second only to knowing when to wear it and when to take it off. Knowing when NOT to wear your jewelry is integral in jewelry care and the number one way to prevent damage and loss.

Jewelry should always be removed before cleaning, gardening, yard work, exercise, and swimming. All jewelry other than wedding rings should be removed while sleeping. Never wear jewelry in a hot tub or swimming pool full of chlorine and other chemicals.

Jewelry Care Theft Tip: Although a jewelry box is the safest place to store jewelry, it is also the first place a thief will look for your valuables. Make sure you have a safe or a good hiding place for your jewelry box. You can also keep your costume jewelry in a box on the dresser as a decoy.

As a final jewelry care prevention method, remember to insure your jewelry and get it appraised regularly, just in case it is ever lost, stolen, or damaged.

About the Author

Lawrence Reaves writes for Danforth Diamond, an online jewelry store specializing in wedding jewelry, diamonds and engagement rings. They offer prices as low as 40% off retail jewelry stores.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Allan-Michael-Taylor/45501

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