JEWELRY CARE AND CLEANING

Care And Cleaning
Routine home care of your fine jewelry, combined with regular care and cleaning by your local certified jeweler will normally result in a lifetime of wear. It is a good idea to have your jewelry cleaned occasionally by a jeweler. During cleaning, the jeweler can also check to ensure that the gemstones are all present and that they remain secure in their settings.

For general home cleaning of your jewelery, a mild soap and water solution is usually sufficient. Use a soft brush, such as an old toothbrush. Be very careful before using commercial cleaning products on your jewelry. It is a good idea to check with you local jeweler before using any new cleaning product on any piece of jewelry that you think may be susceptible to possible damage from chemicals. Certain chemicals, even ones considered to be "mild", can sometimes cause noticeable damage to certain gems. Pearls, in particular, can be very subsceptible to chemical damage and can be easily damaged even with soft brushes during cleaning. Be sure NOT to use paper towels when cleaning or polishing your jewelry. There are polishing cloths available that are designed specifically karat gold and sterling silver, for instance.

When performing household chores, such as gardening, be sure to remove your jewelry to prevent damage. Certain types of jewelry is susceptible to damage during sleeping, especially necklaces. It is a good idea to remove any jewelry for sleeping if you think there is a chance of it being damaged during the night.

Protect your jewelry from exposure to extreme temperature, sunlight, chemicals, or other harsh environmental factors that could cause damage to them. Wearing jewelry while swimming, or in hot tubs and jacuzzis can cause damage due to the presence of chlorine which can cause damage various gemstones as well as gold. Repeated exposure to pools, hot tubs, or jacuzzis can also result in stones being loosened and/or lost.

If you notice that any of the stones in your jewelry begin to rattle or become loose at all, take the jewelry to your local jeweler. The setting can usually be corrected so that the stone is again tight. One such example of a corrective action involves retipping the prongs in the setting.

Storage
When storing your jewelry, protect it by storing each piece separately using a jewelry box with separate compartments. If stored improperly, the gemstones can damage each other due to movement of stone against stone with the hardest stone scratching the softer ones. A diamond, for example, will scratch all other gemstones. Most most gemstones even have the ability to scratch the precious metal contained in jewelry, such as gold, silver and platinum. Pearls should always be stored in their own silk or cotton pouch. Never store pearls in a plastic bag!

Avoid storing jewelry in areas that are susceptible to heat, sunlight, extreme moisture, or other damaging environmental factors. Sunlight, for instance, can cause the color of a gemstone to fade.