Spring Cleaning Your Jewelry Box: How to Clean and Store Your Personal Collection

Like most items you wish to keep for a long time, such as a car, your home or even a purse, all require maintenance, proper care, cleaning and for some items proper storage. Diamonds can fall out of rings and chains can brake but we can reduce the repairs or lose of an item by having your items matinanced and properly cared for.

The general rule in the jewelry industry, is to have your jewelry checked every 6 months by a jeweler. They will check any weak points, such as clasps, prongs, and posts as well as other sections where your jewelry is connected to other parts, such as jump rings, rivets, pins and soldered area’s. They will also check if your stones are loose or damaged. During this process they will professionally clean your jewelry, either in there sonic cleaner, steam cleaner or depending on the material, by hand and if needed, polish and or rhodium plated them. Sometimes there is a fee associated but for most jewlers it is a service they will provide as a courtesy. But you can also take some steps at home to make sure your jewelry is in top shape at all times.

Platinum- Platinum is a soft metal and one of the purist metals used for jewelry making. While it has great longevity, it is very malleable, meaning that will scratch easily and after wearing it, even a short period of time can look old and antiqued (this is something some people love about it). To care for it, take it off when possible, for example when cooking or cleaning or even when you are just at home. This will save it from getting too scratched. To clean it, use a natural gentle soap and a soft cloth. If there are stones, like diamonds in your jewelry, use a soft toothbrush to remove dirt from around the stones. While platinum is safe to put in a sonic cleaner, if you have small set stone or pave set stones, you may want to be careful as the sonic waves can make them fall out more easily. If you can, purchase a loupe and make sure no prongs are broken or stones are loose before putting your pieces in a at home sonic cleaner. Platinum can be polished by your jeweler to look new and bright again. Keep in mind that every time you have your jewelry polished you are removing thin layers of the metal, which can thin and wear your jewelry. We recommend not having your jewelry polished more than twice a year, with once a year being the best. Also because platinum is soft, it can misshape easily, it is always important to have your jewelry reshaped when this happens, to avoid losing any stones.

Note: some jewelry solutions are fine as well, just make sure they do not contain harmful or harsh chemicals, not all are the best for your jewelry especially if you have colored stones in them.

Yellow Gold- For yellow gold, follow the same instructions are for platinum. While it is harder then platinum being gentle always preserves your pieces best. We would add that if you have a special finish (brushed or matte) on your jewelry it can wear in general and in the cleaning process. This can be reapplied by your jeweler at your bi- annual visit.

White Gold- White gold is similar to yellow gold and platinum when it comes to at home cleaning. However, because white gold is made up of yellow gold and then mixed a white metal such as nickel or palladium, it always has a yellowish tint. To get rid of this tint all white gold jewelry is rhodium plated. This plating can wear off over time (10-15 years) and your white gold jewlery may start to have a yellowish tint. This rhodium can be redone at your bi-annual visit to your jewelers. Its amazing the life it can bring back to your white gold jewlery. Some people will also rhodium plate platinum to give it a brighter look.

Silver- For your silver jewelry follow the same steps as for your gold or platinum jewelry. On silver jewelry we cation that you only use silver cleaner on your silver jewelry, avoid alcohol or ammonia on your silver jewelry. Most silver cleaners you find at your local drug store should be just fine. Invest in a good anti- tarnish polishing cloth. Often this can get rid of the tarnish without even having to use a cleaner.

Diamonds- Diamonds are almost indestructible, but still need care and caution. Only use gentle soaps and a soft toothbrush on them. Diamonds are fine to go into sonic cleaners and to be steam cleaned. Be cautious of your diamonds, if they hit anything. Even though diamonds are hard they can still brake, crack and scratch. Diamonds that have points, like princess cut, pear shaped and marquise are more susceptible to breaking because they have those delicat points. Diamonds that break can sometimes be recut or even just reset to protect the broken area from causing more damage to the rest of the diamond. If you notice your diamonds don’t look as bright or you think it may have a crack or chip, take it to your jeweler and they can more closely inspect your stones, small or large.

Other Stones- Some stones, like sapphire are hard and can be cleaned the same way diamonds can, others, like emeralds are softer and some cleaners, like steam or chemicals can really damage them. Make sure to talk to your jeweler before using certain cleaning methods. You could break or miscolor your stones and the damage can be irreversible. If you are not sure a gentle natural soap and soft cloth or toothbrush is always the safe way to go and will not damage your stone.

Pearls- Pearls are fragile- With pearls we suggest you never try and clean them yourself. Always bring them to a professional to be cleaned. In addition, you pearl necklaces should be restrung every 2 years if you wear them daily or every 5 year if you only where them once in a while.

Watches- Most watches need to be take in for general maintenance every five years. Bring your watch to a watch repair as to avoid any damage that may not be covered by your watches warranty. Even batteries should be changed by a professional. Specific tools are used to insure no damage is done.

Storage- Store your jewelry in soft lined drawers or boxes. felt or velvet is great for this. Even if you hang necklaces, make sure they do not hit any hard services or eachother. Limit the amount of items you store in a compartment. If they hit each other this can cause damage and scratching. Most jewelry is fine being exposed to sunlight, however there are some things that should be kept out of the sun and direct light when stored. Things like pearls and opals should never be store in sunlight as they can be bleached out and lose their color or become discolored. To protect your collection, we suggest storing them out of direct light.

Storing Pearls- Never store pearls in the same compartment as other pieces, because they are so soft they can get damaged easily.

Storing Watches- If you have a watch that is self winding, we recommend storing it in a box with a automatic component that keeps your watch moving, this decreases the need for maintenance and insures it will keep time. Watches should be stored in moisture free environments.

We know this is a lot of information, but taking good care of your collection will insure it lasts a long time and has the same sparkle it did when you fell in love with it.

We love keeping it looking fresh!

Cheers,

ID