Your Jewelry Care Guide

Clean jewelry looks better and keeps its finish better than dirty jewelry. Cleaners and cleaning methods can damage your jewelry. Ask your jeweler, when you buy a new piece what is the best way to clean the jewelry. Here are a few do’s and don’ts and some tips to help you keep your jewelry looking its best.

Do

* Store your jewelry individually wrapped or in a box with compartments so they don’t scratch each other
* Use an Ionic cleaner if you can find one even on opals, pearls and emeralds
* Use a soft cloth to colean porous gems like lapis, turquoise, jade and malachite
* Avoid heat and strong light on your Opals because it can dry them out
* Put a ring holder next to the sink to catch your rings while washing your hands so they don’t wander down the drain.

Don’t

* Use a sonic cleaner on anything but diamonds, rubies, sapphires, gold and silver without consulting the manufacturer of your jewelry
* Get lotion, perfumes, oils or other chemicals on your jewelry.
* Wear your jewelry when it might be subject to sharp blows or chemicals as in cleaning, gardening or playing sports
* Wear Kunzite or Zircon in sunlight as it could cause them to fade.
* Use paper towels for cleaning as they can scratch your gold or silver.

Tips for Cleaning your Jewelry

1. Clean your earring posts and wires with rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer
2. Try a Water Pik® to clean imbedded materials in chains.
3. Diamonds are brittle and can be chipped, so wear them with care.
4. Check with your jeweler to see if your stones are treated and what special care must be given to treated stones.
5. Don’t wear your metals in a swimming pool as the chlorine is not good for them.
6. Your stones can crack if they are subjected to sudden temperature changes.
7. Soap film can dull your jewelry

Louise Coulson, a former elementary school teacher, has had a checkered career of work in the fiberarts, marketing and website development. She has moved with her engineer husband from one construction project to another, hence the checkered career. She is currently using her fiber background in her jewelry designs and fabrication. The wire is woven, twisted, coiled and braided to create one-of-a-kind or limited-edition pieces. She has recently published an eBook, Website ShowCase, for jewelry artisans who develop, maintain and market their own jewelry websites. She is webmaster for the wireweavers.com and the jewelryspectrum.com websites.