Precious jewelry cleaning and care tips

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For selling jewelry or or even as an owner of beautiful precious jewelry, jewelry cleaning and care should be an integral part of of the routine care. It is important to know how to care for different metals and stones and how to accomplish that regularly.

There are certain stones and pearls that needs extra care and caution. Here are some home made ways for jewelry cleaning and then we'll discuss professional cleaning methods too.

HOME MADE WAYS:

Dipping Method

1 table spoon liquid hand soap

1/2 cup water

1/4 tea spoon amonia.

Mix all together and store in a glass jar. Briefly soak the jewelry including gold, silver or costume jewelry in it. Rinse with water very well and pat dry with soft cloth.

Spray Method

Spray Windex (or any other glass cleaner with amonia) on the jewelry to be cleaned. Wait few moments. Rinse thoroughly and wipe clean a with soft cloth. I'll not use delicate stone items for this method.

Soaking Method

Take an aluminum plate or foil. Add 1 tablespoon salt and 1 table spoon baking soda. Pour some hot water, not boiling though. Let the powders dissolve. Now dip your silver jewelry in it. Keep for few minutes. Use several cleaning sessions if a piece is badly tarnished. Keeping it longer in the solution will not be effective.

What happens?

Silver sulphide is the stuff that makes the tarnished oxidized look on your silver jewelry. When immersed in aluminum with baking soda and salt the chemical reaction pulls the the silver atoms out and deposits aluminun sulphide. The silver that remains from the reaction is deposited onto the silver and it shines.

Steam Cleaning:

To steam clean jewelry at home, slowly boil a solution of trisodium phosphate and water in a saucepan. Hang the jewelry in the pan - being very careful not to get burned by the steam! I use a knitting needle keeping it flat across the pan and then hang my jewelry from it ,hanging small wire hooked over the edge of the pan will also work. Don't let the jewelry touch the bottom though.
Professional Cleaning Method:

One method that professional jewelry makers use, especially who work with silver and gold filled wire is using professional tumblers. Most jewelry artisans that I know use the one made by Lortone. Lortone 3A consists of a metal base with an internal motor and a soft barrel with a two part metal lid. The barrel turns when you plug the machine. You need to put certain solution and the directions are complete with the package. So you'll know exactly what to do. This is a worth while investment if you want to show off your wire work with precious metals.

Jewelry polishing cloths are also essential to keep the jewelry to be sold in tip top condition, especially before the show. Also it shows that your care.

Here are some stones that demand extra special care.

Amber,Coral,Drusy, Emeralds,Lapis, Malachite, Mother of pearl,Opals,Pearls, Peridot, Ruby, Sapphire,Turquoise,Zoisite (a special kind of Ruby)

How do you take care when you have these jewels embedded? What jewelry cleaning care will you consider?

Visit cleaning pearl and delicate stone page

Or may be you might rather want to oxidize your silver jewelry organically, naturally

After Precious jewelry cleaning and care tips you may want to visit jewelry selling or
jewelry making page

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