Caring for Your Jewelry
Whether you have purchased diamond jewelry, gold jewelry, or sterling silver jewelry, you want to take good care of your investment by cleaning it often and storing it properly. There are a number of things that can damage the finish on your jewelry.
- SOAP - You should take off your jewelry prior to bathing or washing the dishes. Soap can leave a residue that will give your jewelry a dull finish.
- MAKEUP- Your makeup will also leave a residue on your jewelry so you should take care when putting your makeup on in areas close to your jewelry or simply wait until you have applied your makeup to put on your jewelry.
- CLEANING PRODUCTS - Your jewelry should not be worn when you are using cleaning products. Abrasives can scratch your jewelry and hard chemicals (such as ammonia and chlorine) can cause discoloration of many metals and ruin the polish on gemstones. I know of some cases where the hard chemicals caused the prongs on rings to be eaten away thus causing the diamonds or other gemstones to be lost.
- HEAT - Jewelry can be damaged by exposure to extreme temperatures. Certain gems such as Opals can be sensitive to temperature changes. Obviously, you should never boil your jewelry to try to clean it as the pressure can crack and damage the stones.
You should never take your jewelry off to wash your hands when you are using the sink in a public restroom. So many times rings are left behind and are never found. If you get some soap residue on your rings, simply wait until you get home and follow the directions for cleaning your jewelry.
One last point to mention, it is important that you take your more expensive jewelry to your jeweler to have the settings checked every year or two. Over time the prongs on jewelry can become damaged causing the diamonds or gemstones to fall out of the setting. A jeweler will check to make sure the setting is secure.