Jewelry Care: Caring for, Cleaning, and Storing Your Precious Jewelry

By Casey Buell Your jewelry is precious. Whether it holds monetary or sentimental value, or both, your jewelry is special. So how do you keep your jewelry looking it's best? Most people believe that a certain amount of wear and tear is to be expected. Not so. There are a few simple steps you can take to ensure that your precious jewelry is in as perfect condition as the day you bought it. When not to wear your jewelry: One of the best ways to keep your jewelry looking good is knowing when not to wear it. Many people never take their jewelry off, for sentimental reasons. But the fact is that there are many routine activities that may damage, or even destroy, your precious jewelry. Examples of these activities include: Gardening: Aside from getting your jewelry dirty, gardening is one of the easiest ways to chip or lose precious stones, as well as scratch gold or platinum jewelry. Remember that gold is an extremely soft metal, and platinum, while about twice as strong as gold, is still easily scratched. Household cleaning: You should never wear your jewelry while doing household cleaning! Many common cleaning solutions contain chemicals that may damage or discolor precious gems or metals. Also, while doing housework, you are bound to rub your jewelry against abrasive materials. When it comes to gold even dust can be abrasive enough to do damage. Swimming: The chlorine in swimming pools can do extensive damage to your jewelry. Chlorine can pit and discolor gold, as well as take the polish off of precious gems. Chlorine will also do damage to settings, causing gems to come loose, and greatly increasing the risk of losing them. Sleeping: Yes sleeping! While sleeping you will unconsciously brush your jewelry against the sheets. The dust on your sheets, or the sheets themselves, acts as a fine abrasive, which, over time, will wear down the settings of your rings. If you must wear you ring to bed, you should turn the ring so that the gem is facing the palm of your hand. This way it is less likely to come in contact with abrasive materials. You should also avoid extreme temperature changes. For example: If you are wearing a diamond ring in a hot tub (which you should not do in the first place) and you then decide to jump into a cold pool, your diamond may very well crack, or even shatter! When deciding whether or not to wear your jewelry you should just use common sense. If you think that you might be doing something rough, or if you think you might come into contact with chemicals or abrasives, it's best to simply not wear your jewelry. Better safe than sorry. Cleaning your jewelry: Cleaning your jewelry is really pretty simple. The best way to clean your jewelry is by soaking it in warm water with a mild liquid detergent or soap. After letting your jewelry soak for three or four minutes rinse it off under running water (make sure the drain is closed), and then pat it dry with a soft lint free cloth or paper towel. You should clean your jewelry often to avoid having to take it to a jeweler for costly and harmful cleaning methods. There are many home remedies and old wives tales dealing with how to clean jewelry. Most of these not only do not work, but also can be extremely harmful to your jewelry. Some examples of these include: Toothpaste: One of the most common home remedies for cleaning jewelry is using toothpaste. You should absolutely never use toothpaste to clean your jewelry! Toothpaste is abrasive. While this is a good thing for cleaning plaque off your teeth, it will scratch gold and softer gems. Boiling water: Many people believe that boiling jewelry in water is a good way to clean it. In fact boiling is one of the easiest ways to destroy fine jewelry. Boiling your jewelry can crack or discolor gemstones, even diamonds. Ammonia: Ammonia is okay to use on diamonds, rubies, and sapphires, but will damage other gemstones. Ammonia should only be used on unfilled diamonds. Fracture filled diamonds should never be cleaned in acidic solutions or ammonia. Professional polishing solutions: Professional polishing solutions have a mild abrasive in them. This abrasive will make your gold jewelry shine, but it will also scratch the gold. Cleaning your jewelry often will make it sparkle and shine. Diamonds especially should be cleaned regularly, as they naturally attract grease. A clean flawed diamond can look ten times better than a dirty flawless one. Storing your jewelry: Proper storage is the most important factor in keeping your jewelry in good condition. Remember that gold and platinum are soft materials, and that diamonds are one of the hardest substances known to man. If you store your jewelry together your diamonds, rubies, and sapphires will scratch your precious metals, as well as chip other, softer gems, such as emeralds. You should always store your jewelry pieces separately. Many people like to store their jewelry in lock boxes, or at home, in the freezer. These are both poor choices for jewelry storage. The dry atmosphere of a lock box can damage your jewelry, while the extreme cold of a freezer can crack or shatter precious gemstones. The best place to store your precious jewelry is in a jewelry box with many separate compartments. Most jewelry boxes are lined with soft, un-abrasive materials, which will not scratch your jewelry. A good jewelry box will come with many compartments, which not only showcase your jewelry beautifully, but also protect your jewelry from scratching and chipping. Jewelry boxes are also beautiful in and of themselves. A quality jewelry box is usually handmade of beautiful hard wood, and cunningly contrived to showcase your jewelry in a stunning fashion. When storing your jewelry there is no substitute for a quality jewelry box. Here is a go page to view different styles available in a jewelry box. Where is the best place to purchase a jewelry box: To get an idea of the different styles and prices that are available in a jewelry box it is more convenient to view them online before shopping around at local retail stores. Retail stores and jewelers will sometimes carry a small selection of jewelry boxes, but you are more apt to find a greater selection online. Just type "jewelry box" into an Internet search engine like Google or Yahoo and you will find several reliable websites that specialize in jewelry boxes. The cost of a jewelry box is dependent upon many variables. In solid hardwood, a jewelry box should cost about $100 to $300 depending on size, but fancy jewelry boxes can cost much more. Let your jewelry shine: Would you like your jewelry to look more stunning than ever? Would you like your jewelry to gain compliments every time you wear it? Caring for your jewelry is well worth your time. Not only will proper care and storage extend the life of your jewelry, it will also make your jewelry sparkle and shine like never before. Casey Buell is an expert in the field of gemstones and diamonds, and a contributor to the award winning jewelry box [http://www.jewelryboxmaster.com/] website located at [http://jewelryboxmaster.com]. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Casey_Buell Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/247402

Jewelry Care and Cleaning Guide: How To Care and Protect Your Jewelry

By Bijan Aziz Celebrating a Special Occasion with Jewelry! Jewelry Care means being careful, how you store and and clean it! How to care and protect Jewelry? If your jewelry has value to you, it is valuable enough for you to want to take care of it. Jewelry Care means being careful you do no lose it as well as being careful how you store and clean it. When you buy jewelry, any jewelry, from the most expensive fine jewelry to inexpensive costume jewelry, you buy it because it is beautiful. The gleam of the metal and the shine or luster and fire of the gems appeal to your aesthetic sense of beauty, based on what you can afford. The better the jewelry, the longer you want to wear it, perhaps even for rest of your life, and the longer you want it to have that like new glow, although some metals and finishes attain a warm patina with wear. What you don't want, however, is scratched or gouged settings and dull gems. Accidents can happen, but all too often the jewelry is damaged by carelessness or not taking the few moments necessary to tend to the jewelry. In most cases, being careful is the only care jewelry needs. Some types of jewelry, nevertheless, need special care because the gems may be soft, absorbent, or fragile. Keep in mind that the harder the gem and the higher it is on the Mohs scale of hardness, the more durable it generally is. At time, a hard gem with high or distinct cleavage is apt to be fragile and may break or cleave if it is struck at the right angle. Hardness therefore is not synonymous with toughness. A tough gem may be soft enough to be more easily scratched but it is less apt to break or shatter. These characteristics have pertinence in wearing, cleaning, and storing jewelry, and in remodeling. Metals have similar characteristic. The purer the silver and gold, the more easily it can be damaged. Also, you must consider the combination of metal in settings with gem or gems. What may be perfectly good to clean a metal, such as sterling silver, may not be the best for the gems. You have to consider the jewelry as a whole, not as simply metal or gems. These point are tied in with the third point: the care you take with your jewelry to protect it from loss, both when you are wearing it and when you put it away for safekeeping. All the care in cleaning and storing will not matter if you lose the jewelry. The care you should take in this sense involves the precautions you would take to make sure you do not lose something you like and enjoy. That common sense, and it is common sense whether or not the jewelry is insured, and whether or not it is valuable. The precautions you should take with any jewelry that you like and that means anything to you, in fact, are simple common sense. - Protection of jewelry First of all, think about what you do when wearing jewelry. Rings are good example of how common sense can prevent loss. More Rings are probably lost through carelessness than any other type of jewelry, because they are more apt to be taken off when being worn than pins or necklaces, bracelets or even earrings. So, Precaution Number One, if you wear rings, is to wear them at all times, or be careful with them as you are with your money and credit cards. Men and women, incidentally, tend to regard rings differently. - Storing and cleaning jewelry When you take jewelry off, all jewelry and not only rings, what do you do with it? First, you should have a good and safe place for it. Second, that place should keep the jewelry safe not only from loss but also from damage. The worst place you can put it is in a jewelry box already filled with other jewelry all jumbled together, where it can become scratched or more seriously hurt. The best place you can put jewelry is in individual leather or cloth cases or bags that will protect each piece from being damaged by other pieces of jewelry. If you do not have separate boxes from the jeweler for each piece of jewelry, at least put each piece in an individual case of some kind and do not drop it casually into a jewelry box. In most cases, a plastic bag is a good substitute for leather or cloth. Plastic, however, should never be used with pearls, opals, and ivory, which need air to retain their beauty. Plastic, nevertheless, does have an advantage for other jewelry in that you can easily see the piece of jewelry that is in the bag. This method, incidentally, is also good for costume jewelry, which can be scratched as easily, if not more so, than precious jewelry. Cleaning is also important in retaining and restoring the beauty and luster of jewelry with and without gems. Even gold can discolor from soaps and perspiration. Silver can be especially prone to tarnish, although almost all American sterling silver jewelry is coated with rhodium, an element of platinum, to prevent tarnishing. Any other silver that is worn all the time rarely needs polishing either, since wear retards tarnish. It still may need cleaning, though. In fact, any metal may need cleaning now and then to remove dirt, soil, or soap film, as may gems. There are, in general, four methods of cleaning jewelry. Although all are safe for cleaning precious metal and diamonds, all are not interchangeable and safe for all kinds of jewelry. These are the methods most commonly suggested and used, but be sure to read further for the exceptions and for the precautions you should take with specific metals and gems. -Detergents Bath. Mix a mild detergent and warm water in a small bowl or cup. Immerse the jewelry, brushing the pieces with an eyebrow brush. Rinse the jewelry under warm running water, being sure to put the jewelry into a tea strainer or cheesecloth for safety's sake. Pat dry with lintels cloth. Do not use for soft gems or foe any jewelry that is strung, such as ivory or pearls. - Cold water soak. In a cup or bowl, combine half cold water and half household ammonia. Put the jewelry in and soak for 30 minutes. Do not leave it overnight or for a long period of time. After 30 minutes, remove the jewelry and gently clean the front and back of the setting, if necessary, with an eyebrow brush before swishing the jewelry in the solution again and draining it dry on tissue. Do not use soft gems or any jewelry that is strung, such as ivory or pearls. - Quick dip. Commercial jewelry cleaners generally employ the quick dip method. Since cleaners vary, you should read instructions carefully and follow them to the letter. Do not use cleaners on nay jewelry not specifically mentioned unless you check with a jeweler first. - Ultrasonic cleaners. You will find several of these small machines on the market. In general, the principle is that of using high frequency turbulence to clean jewelry soaking in a metal cup of water and detergent. Again, be sure to read and follow the directions with the utmost care and do not use the machine on any jewelry not specifically mentioned. Not all jeweler, feel these machine are safe even for diamonds. Before buying one, therefore, be sure to check with your jeweler and get his advice. These then are the common methods in general. Specific metals, and gems, require specific care. The methods described below are safe for the specific metals and won't harm most gems. Keep in mind, though, that some gems need special care. Whenever you have any doubt about cleaning jewelry, be sure to consult your jeweler. 1) Copper Copper will tarnish like silver in presence of moisture and sulfur. In most cases, however, a lacquer is baked on to prevent the jewelry from tarnishing. To clean copper, use any commercial cleaner that specifies it safe for copper. Do not use ammonia, which can erode copper. 2) Gold The lower the number of karats, the more gold will discolor due to the higher percentage of base metals in the alloy. Mild soap, water and ammonia will remove the discoloration with ease. One theory goes that you can prevent gold from leaving black mark on the skin by spraying the gold with hair spray. All you actually doing is adding a substance that can add to the tarnish. Keeping gold clean is the best way to avoid skin discoloration. In any case do not use hair spray on any gold with gems. Gold-filled. Remember, the character of gold filled jewelry is the same as the karat gold that makes up 1/20 of the total weight, except that the jewelry will not last as long as the same jewelry in solid karat gold. Gold-filled jewelry can be cleaned the same way as karat gold, with mild soap, and a drop of ammonia. Rolled gold plate. Rolled gold plate may contain less gold than rolled gold, but it should be cleaned the same way as gold-filled and karat gold jewelry. Gold electroplate. Although the layer of gold deposited by electroplating may be 7 to 100 millionths of an inch thick, good gold electroplate can wear as well as rolled gold. It should be wiped clean regularly with a damp, soft cloth, and a mild soap and water solution may be used to remove any makeup. Do not use a treated cloth to clean gold electroplate. Gold-washed or gold-flashed. Jewelry finished in this manner contains very little gold. The surface layer, in fact, is so thin that it may be negligible and wear off after a few times of being worn. Any cleaning, and particularly any rubbing, any remove the finish entirely. 3) Silver Any commercial silver cleaner or silver cloth will touch up and clean silver jewelry. Soap, water, and a drop of ammonia will also clean silver that is very lightly tarnished or may just need cleaning to remove makeup and perspiration. Silver-filled. Clean silver-filled jewelry in the same way as sterling. The older the jewelry, however, the more permanent the patina will be. Such a patina cannot be removed. Silver plate (or silver electroplate). Silver plate, unlike gold, can last for years and can be cleaned in the same way as sterling silver. It can be re-plated, if necessary, although re-plating is more common in silver tableware than in jewelry. 4) Combination metals Metals, including precious metals, are sometimes combined with other metals and with enamel. Be very careful in cleaning the metal that you don't clean off the inlay or enamel. The same caution holds true for vermeil, which is sterling silver with karat gold electroplate. If you must rub, rub very gently with soft cloth. 5) Gems Some gems need special care. That care includes both cleaning and storing gems. Be particularly careful with: Amber. Amber is the softest of all gems and will be scratched by all other gems. Be careful in wearing it and always store it by itself. It darkens gradually with age and exposures to light and should be kept in a cloth or leather bag case. Never use a rough clothe or clothe that may have dirt, dust, or grit on it to clean amber because of its softness. Never use acid to clean amber or wear amber when working with acids since acid will decompose amber. Alcohol and other solvents do not normally affect amber, however, unless it is exposed to them for a long period of time. For this reason, be careful not to leave amber in any cleaning solution, except very briefly. Hair spray and perfume can also affect amber. Coral. Coral is relatively tough. Be careful with twig coral in both storing and wearing, since the thinner the twigs the more easily the coral can break. Remember, coral is not a mineral and its luster may be spoiled by preparations used to clean other jewelry. Diamonds. Diamonds should be kept apart from other gems to avoid scratching the other gems. This rule holds true for both storage and cleaning. One expert suggests boiling diamonds for 10 minutes in soap, water, and ammonia to clean them. Ivory. Wash ivory carefully in soapy water, drying it with a damp cloth. Never soak ivory in soap and water, however, since soaking can cause it to crack or break. If you are cleaning ivory beads, do not get the string wet because the string will stay wet and can affect the beads. Do not use commercial jewelry cleaner or acid. Ivory darken with age. It can be bleached by sunlight or peroxide. If peroxide is used, do not soak the ivory in it, and avoid wetting any string with which ivory beads are strung with the peroxide. Keep in mind that ivory is permeable and relatively soft, factors tending to make it contract or shrink in cold and expand in heat. The combination of temperatures, along with soaking and drying out, can lead to the cracking of the ivory. Wiping it carefully with a soft, damp cloth, therefore, is probably the best method of cleaning ivory. Jet. Jet, although tough, is soft and should never be kept with other jewelry that can scratch it. Scratching diminishes its polish and lessens its value to collectors. Lapis Lazulli. Despite its softness, Lapis Lazulli wears well and is popular for men's jewelry and especially men's rings. Even though it may scratch, the scratches are not difficult for a good jeweler to polish out. Malachite. Malachite is soft and is not tough like jet. It breaks easily and should be worn with care. It also scratches easily, losing its polish. Be careful wearing it next to your skin, which can turn malachite dark or black. Moonstone. Moonstone's softness means that it needs care. Moonstones should be kept by themselves and cleaned carefully with only a very soft cloth and soap and water. Opals. All kinds of opals are fragile and require care, the most care of any other gem. The polished stones are usually thin and may crack or craze. One cause may be extremely cold weather, indirect sunlight, in hot dishwater, or when handling frozen foods. Cold weather may also cause opals to shrink, which means they can fall out of the setting. Because of their softness, they are easily scratched and may absorb dirt or grit, another reason for avoiding dishwater and being careful in cleaning them. Opals contain water, sometimes as much as 10%. Thus, they may dry out. For this reason, some experts suggest leaving them in water, in a mixture of water and glycerin, or in mineral oil to keep them from drying out and losing their fire, whenever they are not being worn. Use only a mild soap solution and a soft cloth to clean them. Never put opals in plastic bags, commercial jewelry cleaner, or acid. Pearls. Both Oriental and cultured pearls are genuine pearls and need a certain amount of special care. Cosmetics (including hair spray), dust, dirt, and particularly perspiration can affects pearls. They should be wiped carefully only with a soft clothe after wearing and kept in satin-lined box, never in a plastic bag. Because their softness, cars should be taken not to scratch them. Pearls need to be worn and allowed to breathe. Do not use commercial jewelry cleaner or acid to clean them. Peridot. Peridot scratches easily and tends to lose its polish. It should be stored and worn carefully but no special cleaning is necessary. Topaz. Topaz should be kept in dark, literally. The gems tend to fade or pale in light, and some yellow-brown topazes on display in museums have turned clear after several years. Remember, too, it cleaves easily. It does not require special cleaning methods. Turquoise. Since turquoise is very porous, it will absorb all sorts of impurities, especially if it is exposed to dirt and grease, such as in working in the yard or in washing dishes. Turquoise tends to change color with age. It may lighten, darken, or streak. According to an old wives' tale, burying turquoise in dirt restore the color, but the advice does not say for how long or what amount of dirt might be absorbed. You are probably better off learning to appreciate the change in color. Never expose turquoise to ammonia, which will spoil the surface by pitting or spotting. Jewelry cleaner and acid will also injure or destroy turquoise. To sum up, one of best methods of cleaning jewelry is simply to use mild soap, water and a drop of ammonia, even though ammonia should not be used with certain gems. Commercial jewelry cleaners are also available at fine jewelers, and these are safe, too, for most, but not all, jewelry. Be surer to read the directions on any commercial cleaner carefully and to follow them. When in doubt about cleaning any jewelry, ask your jeweler what he would suggest. Remember, a watchmaker is not a jeweler. For expert advice and help, you need a jeweler who knows metal and gems, because in some cases you may be better off bringing the jewelry into the jeweler's for cleaning. The article above can be used on your web site or newsletter. When it is published, may I request that you include my name and resource box (the bio, contact and copyright information) that follows the article. I would also appreciate if you could send me an email of notification along with a complimentary copy of the publication. Copyright 2005 Bijan Aziz. Bijan Aziz is the owner and Web Master for The Jewelry Hut http://www.thejewelryhut.com The best source for fine Diamond, Gemstone, and Pearl Jewelry on the web. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bijan_Aziz Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/218523

Fashion Jewelry: Get High On Fashion!

By Ray Mond Fashion jewelry has become an essential part of the wardrobe of the fashionistas, enabling them to drop their sense of fashion. It comes with stupendous variety, offering plenty of choice to the shoppers. Consistent demand has encouraged the craftsmen to explore new designs and concepts while producing the jewelry. Like apparel, jewelry as well is a dimension of one's lifestyle. Whether be it a punk who prefers wearing colorful spiked choker that matches colorful vest and cargo bottoms, or a chic, who loves sporting baby pink heart pendants over uber cute babydoll dress, jewelry they wear gives an inkling of their sense of fashion. Off late, men too seem to have fallen for fashion jewelry. Metrosexual men in particular, who have developed high sense of fashion, are major buyers of these funky adornments along with women. Gone are the days when jewelry was confined to genuinely rich. Today, fashion jewelry has surpassed conventional jewelry in popularity. The reason being that it is affordable. People can purchase it without burning their pockets. The other reason is, you can make a switch to another piece of jewelry quicker. These days, fashion changes every night and you won't like to stay with a piece, that is past its day of glory. As for new designs and variety, This is as par real jewelry. Neighborhood shops notwithstanding, even the big players have entered the fray. Consistent demand has encouraged the craftsmen to explore new designs and concepts while producing the jewelry. They can also customize their jewelry items according to the preferences of their clients. Fashionjewelry has, in fact, become a separate industry in itself. With the advent of this kind of jewelry, even image conscious cine stars and socialites have started flaunting fashion accessories. They use fashion jewelry items to compliment the most exquisite of the dresses, vaunting it with their best tux on the red carpet, further adding to their popularity. Fashion jewelry has not become something which is high on the people's desire list. The affluent tend to buy the branded pieces which are a bit expensive while an average joe buys the look-alikes of the original designs which are pretty much affordable. Fashion jewelry has become an essential part of the wardrobe of the fashionistas, enabling them to drop their sense of fashion. It is available right at the places they like to visit such as beaches to high end malls and luxury boutiques. Spotting its popularity, even well reputed brands which hitherto dealt in only gold, platinum or diamond jewelry, have begun and marketing these on huge scale. Such extensive is the range of fashion jewelry, that it can be objectified into various types - rings, earnings, necklaces, bracelets, bracelet charms, lockets etc. - made of non-precious metals and other elements such as rhinestones, beads and polyester resin. These elements combine to create a unique blend of aesthetics and style. Fashion jewelry comes with stupendous variety, offering plenty of choice to the shoppers. As a result of the high demand for fashion jewelry, its market has expanded to a great extent. Catering to the market, fashion jewelry suppliers offer their clients an expansive range of trendy products which are designed to ensure that quality is delivered at affordable prices. They offer showcase both contemporary and conventional designs in our collection to meet the diverse needs and tastes of buyers. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6482312