LARUE's Jewelry Care Guide
We all have our favorite jewelry pieces, but over time they can start looking worn out. From gemstones to diamonds to precious metals we all need a little refresh every now and then. Here are a few DIY recipes and tips to keep your gems sparkly and your metals mirror shiny.
Recipe 1: For metal pieces that do not have any stones, my favorite quick at home cleaner is your standard white tooth paste. It has a very mild abrasive quality that easily removes dirt and grime from metals fast. We all have it in a drawer and you don’t need a lot. Just a pea size amount and your fingers. I also like to use hot water with this method. Since the tooth paste is thick, the hot water gets all of the residue off. For hard to reach areas grab an old tooth brush or just a tooth brush that you set aside only for jewelry cleaning purposes.
Recipe 2: Dawn Dish Soap, Mr. Clean Liquid Cleaner, and a ziplock baggie. Taking a sandwich size zip lock bag add an inch of water, a good size drizzle of Dawn Dish Soap and a cap full of Mr. Clean Liquid Cleaner. Mix it together in the baggie. I specifically say Dawn because it is very gentle. There is a reason they use it to clean animals lol. Dawn also gives your jewelry that extra sparkle. Once mixed together you can add your pieces. I suggest doing one at a time so there is no risk of scratching. Once you place a piece in the solution, seal the baggie tight and your going to want to agitate the bag aggressively for 30 sec-1 minute for best results. You have just created your very own at home ultra sonic machine. Aka the machine they throw your stuff in when you go to the jewelry store to have your pieces cleaned. This method is best for pieces with stones because the solution will get under and around without risk of scratching the surface if you have porous stones.
Recipe 3: Dawn Dish Soap and a tooth brush. Dawn is very gentle yet tough on grime and dirt that gets stuck in nooks and crannies of your jewelry pieces. It is also a quicker solution than method 2. I only suggest this method for diamonds and metal pieces without stones. Remember to keep the tooth brush in a separate baggie for storage not to get confused with your actual toothbrush.
Now for overall care there are some things to keep in mind. Sterling silver is very sensitive to humidity. I learned this the hard way when I lived in San Fransisco, which is a highly humid place. Humidity will make sterling silver tarnish quicker than normal. Sterling silver is the most common of the silver alloys. An alloy is a metal mixed with one or more metals. Sterling Silver is made up of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. That mixed with oxygen and sulfurous gasses in the air make the metal look dark grey/black which we call tarnish. Sterling tends to tarnish faster than other metals in general so it’s good to make this next tip a rule of practice. By keeping your sterling pieces in air tight bags or mini ziplocks, it will stop the tarnishing process. This is also the case for sterling silver that has been plated in gold. Although the gold will hold its keep for a while the silver underneath will start to tarnish whittling away the plating.
As far as tarnish is concerned Gold for the most part doesn’t get as affected. The true culprit for tarnish is the amount of copper mixed in the alloys. So that being said, 24k gold rarely will tarnish but 14k and lower are at a higher risk because there is more copper mixed in the alloy but even then it takes a long time. Keeping your jewelry in a closed box is always a good idea. A closed box will keep your pieces safer from the elements and away from dust and dirt. I personally have a terrible habit of not doing this. I have everything sprawled out on my dresser or in a bowl. Fortunately, I am also a goldsmith and have endless access to cleaning supplies and polishing cloths. I should probably work on practicing what I preach but I’m human. Polishing cloths are always great to keep around the house. You can grab a polishing cloth from jewelry supply stores and they run anywhere from 4-8$. Target, Walmart and Amazon also sell polishing cloths. The main thing is you want a double layered cloth. One has compound in the fibers and the other layer is to shine it up. For the most part there is not that big a difference between brands that i’ve noticed. Also, note to self, it doesn’t have to be for gold or for silver. The industry won’t like me saying this but it is just a polishing cloth…. the ones for gold and the ones for silver are exactly the same lol.
So to Recap: Keep your silver in baggies, your jewelry pieces in a closed box of some sort, and clean your pieces. I suggest cleaning maybe once every two to three months. I clean mine once a week but then again I’m a goldsmith. Also, as we discussed in a previous post, perfume/cologne and lotion first then put on jewelry pieces and watches. Thats all for now! Until next time….
XOXO,
LARUE