General Information
Caring for jewelry is a necessary part of owning
the jewelry. With proper care, your jewelry will bring you continued
satisfaction of ownership over the years.
We are bringing you this information to help you
know how to care for your jewelry and get that lasting
satisfaction.
Some tips to remember when caring for your
jewelry include:
- Avoid wearing fine jewelry when you're
performing manual labor tasks, such as housework. - Clean your
jewelry periodically. This will help ensure its fine appearance and
will help it last. To clean, use warm soapy water (use a
non-detergent soap) to soak your jewelry. - Use a soft brush to
help remove dirt on the prongs of larger gem jewelry. - Use
plain alcohol or vodka to help reduce greasy film on diamond jewelry
prior to any other cleaning done.
Cultured Pearl
Information
Cultured pearls have a living organism origin.
They are highly susceptible to damage and are very delicate;
cultured pearl jewelry owners should be careful with their cultured
pearls.
Some tips to remember when caring for cultured
pearls include
- Be careful where you store your cultured pearl
jewelry. Metal and other materials can damage the surface of the
cultured pearl. - Cleaning cultured pearls need only involve soap
and water. Other cleaning agents may damage your cultured
pearls. - Remove traces of cosmetics and other such materials
from your cultured pearl jewelry before placing it in its storage
place. - Wrap your cultured pearl jewelry in a tissue or other
suitable holding device before placing it in its storage place. -
You should take your cultured pearl jewelry back to your jeweler for
restringing once a year.
Diamond
Information
Some of the most popular jewelry items involve
diamond jewelry. Diamonds are durable and the hardest material
known. Because of the amount of light that can enter a diamond, they
shine very well.
The 4 C's is a way of describing the
quality/traits of a diamond.
The 4 C's:
Color-The more colorless the diamond, generally,
the more valuable it is. Cut-A full-cut diamond has 58 facets,
flanked surfaces on the stone. This is considered a roughly
"perfect" cut. Other cuts have different values. Clarity-The
clearer the diamond, the less foreign matter (inclusions-air
bubbles, rubies, black spots of carbon, or anything else that is in
the stone) is present in it, the more sparkly it is, and the more
valuable it is. Carat Weight-The higher the carat weight, the
higher the value of the diamond.
Some tips to remember when caring for diamond
jewelry include
- Avoid wearing diamond jewelry when performing
manual labor. - Ammonia and water, as well as several commercial
cleaners, work well for diamond jewelry. - Avoid placing your
diamond jewelry in chlorine-containing substances.
Gold
Information
Gold is a rare, soft, and very valuable metal.
It is based on a karat system where 24K gold is pure gold, and 10K
gold is 10 parts gold with 14 parts alloy. Karat values in between
correspond to a parts karat + parts alloy = 24 value.
Some tips to remember when caring for gold
jewelry include
- Be wary of makeup, moisture, and chemicals
that may affect your gold jewelry's appearance. - Keep gold
jewelry out of swimming pools with chlorine; chlorine can damage it
over a period of time. - Check your gold jewelry for scratches or
other damage, and bring it to your jeweler if there is any; he or
she may be able to repair it.
Platinum
Information
The purity of platinum is often higher than that
of gold. Platinum jewelry is usually in the neighborhood of 90%+
pure. It also more "solid" than gold in terms of how resistant it is
to tarnishing by chlorine, etc. It is very strong; plus, it is a
very popular choice in jewelry making.
Some tips to remember when caring for platinum
jewelry include
- Fortunately, platinum is very durable and does
not lose its polish very easily. Cleaning patterns are the same as
other metals. - For jewelry that combines platinum with other
fine jewelry components (like gold), clean those substances and care
for them as you would if they were not paired with platinum. Also,
keep in mind the necessary steps for caring for these other
components.
Silver
Information
Silver, one of the world's most useful metals,
is also one of the world's most valuable metals. It can achieve a
great polish and does not tarnish in its pure form. Most silver
jewelry is silver combined with other metals (alloys). This makes it
more suitable for general jewelry use.
Some tips to remember when caring for silver
jewelry include
- Silver is scratch-resistant but not
scratch-proof. - In addition to the general jewelry care steps,
silver jewelry care can benefit from special silver jewelry cleaning
solutions. Check with your jeweler about these. - Prevent your
silver from being exposed to direct air and light contact. -
Avoid placing silver in chlorine-containing materials. - Be
selective in what you use to clean your silver, i.e. pads, cloths,
etc. Felt works well, as do special cleansing cloths designed for
silver cleaning. Other materials, including tissue, should be
avoided. Ask your jeweler for more information.
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