Friday, February 6, 2015

How to clean jewelry pieces and gems


REMEMBER! Some gemstones shouldn't get wet. The living Gems, like coral, shells, fangs, bone and pearls and some other like lapis lazuli –that has pyrite bits in it-, selenite and lava. You should also be careful with beauty products –cleansing lotions, perfumes, hair spray… Wear your jewels once finished your beauty session.

Jewelry cleansing.

If it has stains or it’s dirty we will use easy to found at home items we will need:
  • Some a dry cloth, of natural fibers like cotton, flannel or linen.
  • Bicarbonate. Very effective with sterling silver.
  • A bowl of water. Hot if the piece has filigree or difficult access zones on it.
  • Tooth paste and brush, smooth and heavily used, to access small openings and that we will use with extreme care so we don’t break or lose any gem.

1- For those jewels that seem opaque and have lost their shine

Rub it gently with a bristle brush, very soft -just a toothbrush well used- spread over it a little toothpaste. Then wash it thoroughly with hot water. The result is superb.

2- How to clean sterling silver jewelry

Como limpiar plata, limpiar joyas
Rub the piece with a wet cloth and some bicarbonate.
If cleaning is carried out regularly, rub the piece lightly with a dry cloth will remove brownish rust stains.

If the stain is dark and deep; immerse completely the pieces in a container full of baking soda and water, boil it for a few minutes (3-5min). If you have an aluminum container, use it, since due to the electric potential difference between silver and aluminum the small electrical currents will act quickly and silver will become perfect in all its brightness again. The nieladed or dark silvers, those with rusted parts or cavities in dark tones –antiqued by age or by man- should not be cleaned by this method if you want to keep the dark stains that make them unique, because it would clean them.