Cleaning Your Jewellery
From your everyday jewellery to stately pieces worn only on special occasions, discover how to safely polish and protect your beloved baubles.
A Moderate Approach
Some people clean their jewellery excessively while others rarely clean their jewellery at all. Since baubles are wearable items and can be fragile, it's best to take a moderate approach when cleaning your jewellery.
Rinsing and rubbing it too much can cause unnecessary damage and premature wear, and cleaning it too little can cause your beloved pieces to degrade over time.
Finding the Right Frequency
Protecting your investment means knowing exactly when and how to cleanse the precious metals and stones.
Maintaining Fine Gems
Most fine jewellery should only be cleaned every other month or so to prevent unnecessary exposure to liquids. Be sure to use a gentle method and avoid ultrasonic cleaners or steamers.
Handling with Care
All fine jewellery should be cleaned with care, but some gemstones require a more gentle approach so that they don't crack or chip. Fragile materials—like pearls and cameos made from shells, emeralds, opals, or turquoise—should be handled with extreme care.
Excessive use of at-home ultrasonic machines can eventually loosen stones, wear down the metal, and cause even more significant damage. Have your jewellery checked by a trusted professional jeweler twice a year.
The DIY Home Method
- 1.Mix a drop of mild dish soap in a bowl with some lukewarm water.
- 2.Soak the jewellery in the mixture for a few minutes (delicate gemstones should never be saturated for more than a few seconds).
- 3.Use a soft-bristle toothbrush to buff away dirt gently. Use a toothpick carefully for hard-to-reach spots.
- 4.Pat dry and allow it to air dry completely before storage. Take note of any loose stones and stop wearing it until fixed.
Safely Cleaning Fine Jewellery
The most gentle way to clean fine jewellery is to do so at home using this DIY solution: a dish, lukewarm water, a soft-bristle toothbrush, and some mild dish detergent. The milder the soap, the better.