Caring for your jewelry is an essential part of maintaining the life and beauty of your jewelry. However, jewelry care for precious metals is different from how you care for your jewelry with base metals. In addition, not all precious metals are maintained in the same manner, the reason is because not all precious metals are the same. Listed below are some best practice for maintaining your jewelry.
Base Metals With and Without Plating
Commonly referred to as “Alloy”, the most common “Base Metals” used in jewelry are Copper, Zinc, Aluminum, and Brass which is created by combining copper and zinc together. These metals are sturdy, but prone to oxidization and tarnishing. To minimize or prevent oxidization and tarnishing, these metals are plated with precious metals like Rhodium which is part of the Platinum group.
Care Guidelines:
- To maintain your base metal jewelry, with or without gemstones, one recommendation is to store them separately in their own individual compartments. For example, Rhodium and Gold plated jewelry, you should store these with similar plated jewelry types. In other words, gold plated jewelry should be stored with other gold plated jewelry, do not store different metals together. Choose a storage location that is clean and cool with limited exposure to sunlight and heat.
- Keep jewelry away from perfumes, lotions, and your haircare products when spraying or applying them. Keep this in mind as well when at the spa, hair salon and nail parlor, as the various chemicals, such as nail polish remover, lotions, etc. may cause tarnish on your jewelry. Stylist and attendants providing these services may ask you to remove your jewelry, but be proactive about this.
- Keep jewelry clean, use a jewelry cloth to wipe your jewelry after use, and safely store it back in its individual storage.
- Keep your base metal jewelry away from water, do not take a bath, shower, or swim with your base metal jewelry on.
- If your jewelry is damaged or severely tarnished, a jewelry repair service provider may be able to restore it for you. You can see if there’s one in your area by searching for “jewelry repair” on the internet. In addition, you can purchase jewelry cleaning solutions for restoring tarnished jewelry, however, please read the manufacturer’s instructions for use carefully. When in doubt have your jewelry professionally cleaned.
*Please keep in mind that sweat, makeup, body oils, and exposure to natural elements (for jewelry without plating), can also cause your jewelry to tarnish overtime.
Jewelry Care for Precious Metals
Jewelry care for precious metal is slightly different from base metal jewelry care. In most cases you can bathe, shower, and swim in these metals. However, precious metals can lose its luster and begin to look worn-out also. For example, Sterling silver that is not stored properly can begin to tarnish with tints of yellow and look blackish. No worries, listed below are some guidelines to help you maintain or restore the luster of your precious metal jewelry.
Care Guidelines:
- Store your precious metal jewelry in a closed jewelry case or compartment to prevent continued exposure to air. Do not store different metals together. Choose a storage location that is clean and cool with limited exposure to sunlight and heat.
- Use a jewelry cleaning cloth to keep your jewelry spotless and shining.
- You may also consider using a little soapy water to rinse off oil and sweat buildup, then rinse thoroughly in warm water, dry with a soft cloth. Then use your jewelry cleaning cloth to restore shine to your precious metal jewelry. For extreme buildup, consider using a soft toothbrush in place of your fingers or soft cloth. For natural gemstones, we recommend using plain water to rinse it. If a deep clean is needed have a professional jewelry cleaning and repair service provider clean it for you.
- If your jewelry is damaged or severely tarnished, a jewelry repair service provider may be able to restore it for you. You can see if there’s one in your area by searching for “jewelry repair” on the internet.
- Also, there are silver and gold cleaning and tarnish removing solutions that you can purchase at your own discretion, however, please follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully. When in doubt have your jewelry professionally cleaned.
