Gems and precious stones are gifts of nature, which require special care. In everyday life we deal with a number of chemicals and other substances, which can be dangerous for this or that piece of jewelry. In order to prolong the life of your jewelry you should know how to take care of it.
The harder is the gem, the longer it will serve you. The hardest known gem is diamond, it is almost eternal. There exists a special scale, which indicates the index of hardness of different precious metals. It is called Mohs Scale and is structured so that material rated at each higher number can scratch substances with lower numbers. Diamond is considered the hardest (at 10); rubies and sapphires are Mohs 9; emeralds and topaz - 8; and garnets, tourmalines and quartz - 7. Anything softer than a 7 can be scratched with less difficulty, including opal, turquoise, lapis lazuli, coral and pearl.
Gold, silver and platinum are Mohs 2-4, that’s why they require more care while wearing, storing or cleaning.
There are some pieces of advice what you should and shouldn’t do to take care of your fine jewelry.
* Don’t wear fine jewelry while working in the garden or doing some housework.
* Store your jewelry separate, better wrapped in velvet, paper, silk or plastic zip-lock bag.
* Don’t use toothpaste to clean your jewelry; its components may damage soft metals. Most fine jewelry can be safely cleaned by soaking for 10 minutes in warm soapy water. Use a soft brush on harder gems to loosen any dirt around the prongs. To reduce greasy build-up on diamond jewelry, dip it in plain alcohol before soaking.
* Don’t put too many jewelry items into one jewelry box. Some items may be damaged and some small pieces may be lost.
* Don’t forget to clean your fine jewelry in order to maintain its sparkling look.
* Store jewelry in a dry place and avoid extremes of temperature and humidity.
There are several ways of cleaning your jewelry. You may do it at home or with the help of commercial cleaners.
If you are going to clean it at home, read the following information. The simplest and safest way to clean any kind of jewelry is to wash it with warm sudsy water. Take a small bowl of sudsy water with some mild liquid detergent and ammonia. Soak the piece a few minutes, and then brush it gently with an eyebrow brush or soft toothbrush while holding it under running water. Some people prefer to place jewelry in wire strainer before holding it under running water. When the piece is clean and sparkling, dry it with a soft clean cloth or paper towel.
Commercial cleaners give the same result as the above described method, but they are more convenient for cleaning such gems as diamonds, rubies and sapphires. At the same time commercial cleaners are not recommended for opal, pearl, coral, lapis lazuli, turquoise and emerald. They may damage or reduce the shine on these stones. So be careful while using commercial cleaners and other ultrasonic cleaners. |
