I have been asked so many times... How do I clean and keep my fine jewelry in good condition?
Well that is a good question... because so many people don't have a clue! I always thought everyone knew these things but guess I was wrong! We take care of our expensive cars.... our expensive clothing but "not our jewelry" we paid thousands of dollars for!
There are a few very good tips I want to share with you ... and one of them is Homemade jewelry cleaner you can make at home .You could purchase a professional jewelry cleaner or you could simply make your own cleaner. I make my own because I use so much of it every day making and caring for jewelry.
This is a recipe I use for cleaning semi precious,precious, and most fine jewelry . There are several ones because each type of jewelry needs different care and precautions:
Click this link for some great recipes for different types of jewelry:
Homemade Jewelry Cleaner Recipes:
I personally use this one: 1 part household ammonia, 1 part dawn dish washing detergent, and 1 part warm water with most all of my gemstone jewelry ( but NOT for pearls or sensitive stone (opals and emeralds)
For PEARLS and other very sensitive stone jewelry I use the following formula:
1 part dawn dishwashing (reg. strength)
1 part household ammonia
15 parts warm water
This makes a very weak solution that is more sensitive. IMPORTANT! Leave in less than 1 minute and scrub GENTLY with a soft toothbrush!
Rinse immediately and dry well with soft cotton cloth.
The secret is to NEVER put your jewelry in your jewelry box while it is wet or dirty! This promotes decay of the metals, harming the gemstones and corrosion of your fine metal.. People do not realize that many chemicals we come into contact with daily are harmful to your fine gold and gemstone jewelry.
Another Tip: NEVER leave your jewelry soaking in the jewelry cleaner for more that 10 minutes..... REASON: The chemicals will eat away the metal and or the finish on the jewelry. All jewelry is sensitive to chemicals.... just like our skin... so treat it like it was your own skin..... BE CAREFUL and take better care of it!
Here is an article I find really helpful explaining the importance of "Taking Good Care of your Jewelry and What not to do!
Caring For Your Jewelry
It really doesn't matter if your jewelry is fine or just gold plated.... you will still need to clean it and store it clean and dry at all times.....
I also use a silver ( non tarnish cloth) to wrap my sterling silver in and put it separate from my gold jewelry. This helps keep sterling silver from tarnishing.
It is always a good practice to take you fine diamond jewelry to a jeweler every 6 - 8 months to have them check your prongs and settings. Especially if you wear them everyday.
Hang up your chains and pendants in a jewelry stand to keep them from tangling up.... I am sure we all know about tangles at some point! Nothing is more upsetting than to go to your jewelry box to find a tangled mess when you want to wear a special piece of jewelry.
Jewelry rolls with tabs are also very helpful to use. They help to preserve and keep silver from tarnishing as well.
Also a good practice to invest in an ultrasonic cleaner to clean jewelry with if you have a vast collection of jewelry. I have one in my studio that I love to use.... pictured here in the lower right corner. It works on high frequency vibrations and heat to clean your jewelry.
Check out my upcoming classes I am having this month and the following few months.
Follow me : Facebook
My jewelry collections can be seen here: My Etsy Shop
Have a great weekend and check out my jewelry if you are in downtown Pensacola on Saturday at Palafox Market , located off of Palafox and Gregory Street
Well that is a good question... because so many people don't have a clue! I always thought everyone knew these things but guess I was wrong! We take care of our expensive cars.... our expensive clothing but "not our jewelry" we paid thousands of dollars for!
There are a few very good tips I want to share with you ... and one of them is Homemade jewelry cleaner you can make at home .You could purchase a professional jewelry cleaner or you could simply make your own cleaner. I make my own because I use so much of it every day making and caring for jewelry.
This is a recipe I use for cleaning semi precious,precious, and most fine jewelry . There are several ones because each type of jewelry needs different care and precautions:
Click this link for some great recipes for different types of jewelry:
Homemade Jewelry Cleaner Recipes:
I personally use this one: 1 part household ammonia, 1 part dawn dish washing detergent, and 1 part warm water with most all of my gemstone jewelry ( but NOT for pearls or sensitive stone (opals and emeralds)
For PEARLS and other very sensitive stone jewelry I use the following formula:
1 part dawn dishwashing (reg. strength)
1 part household ammonia
15 parts warm water
This makes a very weak solution that is more sensitive. IMPORTANT! Leave in less than 1 minute and scrub GENTLY with a soft toothbrush!
Rinse immediately and dry well with soft cotton cloth.
The secret is to NEVER put your jewelry in your jewelry box while it is wet or dirty! This promotes decay of the metals, harming the gemstones and corrosion of your fine metal.. People do not realize that many chemicals we come into contact with daily are harmful to your fine gold and gemstone jewelry.
Another Tip: NEVER leave your jewelry soaking in the jewelry cleaner for more that 10 minutes..... REASON: The chemicals will eat away the metal and or the finish on the jewelry. All jewelry is sensitive to chemicals.... just like our skin... so treat it like it was your own skin..... BE CAREFUL and take better care of it!
Here is an article I find really helpful explaining the importance of "Taking Good Care of your Jewelry and What not to do!
Caring For Your Jewelry
It really doesn't matter if your jewelry is fine or just gold plated.... you will still need to clean it and store it clean and dry at all times.....
I also use a silver ( non tarnish cloth) to wrap my sterling silver in and put it separate from my gold jewelry. This helps keep sterling silver from tarnishing.
It is always a good practice to take you fine diamond jewelry to a jeweler every 6 - 8 months to have them check your prongs and settings. Especially if you wear them everyday.
Hang up your chains and pendants in a jewelry stand to keep them from tangling up.... I am sure we all know about tangles at some point! Nothing is more upsetting than to go to your jewelry box to find a tangled mess when you want to wear a special piece of jewelry.
Jewelry rolls with tabs are also very helpful to use. They help to preserve and keep silver from tarnishing as well.
Also a good practice to invest in an ultrasonic cleaner to clean jewelry with if you have a vast collection of jewelry. I have one in my studio that I love to use.... pictured here in the lower right corner. It works on high frequency vibrations and heat to clean your jewelry.
Check out my upcoming classes I am having this month and the following few months.
Follow me : Facebook
My jewelry collections can be seen here: My Etsy Shop
Have a great weekend and check out my jewelry if you are in downtown Pensacola on Saturday at Palafox Market , located off of Palafox and Gregory Street
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