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About the Store | Jewelry & Gemstones
Cleaning Jewelry
Gold Jewelry
Most gold jewelry can be cleaned in warm soapy water, and can be gently brushed if necessary using an old tooth brush.
Gold Alloys
High carat alloys such as 18 carat and above, will not usually become tarnished, and will not be harmed by household chemicals. Lower carat gold can be harmed by contact with choloring based bleach and cleaning chemicals. Chlorine can cause stress corrosion cracking in lower gold alloys of 14 carat and below, although it will be worse if the jewelry contains porosity through less than perfect manufacturing treatments. Because of this it is best to avoid cleaning your jewelry with bleach or other cleaners containing chlorine, and also to avoid wearing it when in contact with bleach.
Diamonds
Diamonds are almost impossible to damage, the only precaution which should be observed is to avoid two diamonds rubbing together during cleaning, as they can scratch and case abrasion to each other. Reasonable care should be taken not to catch diamond setting with filaments of thread, particularly strong synthetic threads which may bend claws, and loosen the stones they are meant to be securing. To remove caked-on grease and other dirt from the backs of stones, we recommend an old toothbrush and warm soapy water.
Other Gemstones
Ruby and sapphire are easy to clean in the same way as diamonds, and they require no special care. Again, you should ensure that stones do not rub against other stones during cleaning.
Proprietary Jewelry Cleaner
Most jewelry now sells tubs of "Jewelry Cleaner". Although it will clean your jewelry, it will not necessarily work any better than the warm soapy water.
Ultrasonic Cleaners
Jewelry manufacturers and workshops use ultrasonic cleaning tanks. In these, the actual cleaning is still performed by the cleaning solution, which is usually a mixture of ammonia and detergent, and the ultrasonics merely provide the agitation which helps to speed up the process.
Tarnish
Low carat gold alloys will tarnish or discolor through exposure to air. This tarnish is not removed by ordinary cleaning. To remove it will usually require the application of gentle abrasive to rub away the layer of tarnished gold. In jewelry workshops, acid may be used to dissolve the tarnish layer, but this is not a practical option at home.
Silver
Silver tarnishes easily, but the tarnish is easily removed using proprietary silver cleaning solutions.
Platinum
Platinum, like high carat gold alloys is highly resistant to tarnishing.
Repolishing
If jewelry with polished surfaces becomes matt and dull over long periods of wear, it can usually be repolished.
Gemstone Settings
It is advisable to avoid cleaning stone-set jewelry in a hand basin or sink. If a stone becomes loose in cleaning, they can easily become lost down the drain. Right after cleaning is a very common time to discover that stones are missing. Occassionally careless cleaning can be the cuase, but usually wear and tear over a period of time are the real cause, and the cleaning merely appears to be the cause. Damage and trauma to jewelry can occur in everyday use, and sometimes the stones are only held in their settings by a build up of grease. When this is removed by cleaning, the stones drop out. Literally, dirt and grease were the only things holding the stones in place!
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