When you are buying or selling precious jewelry, doing your homework can have its benefits. However, it can leave you scratching your head as to where to start.
Native American jewelry has a rich history in American culture. The colorful beads and designs tell stories of generations past. Jewelry was an important part of most Native Americans heritage, with beautiful pieces dating back thousands of years. These same styles and designs are still popular and in high-demand today.
The best tool for any jewelry hunter, whether searching for personal treasure or for the profit in reclaiming gold or silver, is a jeweler’s loupe. Jeweler’s loupes are small, but powerful magnifying instruments designed specially for use in examining jewelry at very close range. Some jeweler’s loupes also have a built-in, battery-powered light which can be very handy if examining pieces in a dimly lit area. Most jeweler’s loupes are extremely economical in cost and can help you make the most of your jewelry-buying dollar, especially when buying from second-hand sources.
When you are going in with a mindset to buy quality jewelry it is of utmost importance that you are going to a reputable dealer of jewelry. Otherwise, you may in fact be duped and pay a lot for something that is not worth much. Make sure that the sales representatives can show they quality of the item.
To open a jump link when making chain jewelry, hold the jump link steady with pliers your left hand, and grip the opposite side of the opening with pliers in your right. Gently twist your hands towards each other. This twisting action helps the jump ring maintain its circular shape without distortion, which will occur if you try to push the sides together without twisting.
To clean up a piece of vintage jewelry, use a window cleaner. Spray a small amount of the window cleaner on s soft, lint-free piece of cloth. Gently rub the cloth against the jewelry until it sparkles. Vintage jewelry is often found in poor condition, and using this cleaning method can make it look new.
Use a cloth dampened with a solution of water and a few drops of dish-washing liquid to clean your pearls. Lightly rub each pearl with the cloth, and allow them to air-dry. Never soak pearls, as doing so can cause massive damage to the integrity of the gem. Keeping your pearls clean ensures a long life for them.
Make sure you give yourself adequate time when ordering a new jewelry piece. Most pieces have a turn around time of six to eight weeks. This can become a problem quickly if you need the jewelry for an important occasion. Make sure you give yourself extra time on top of the proposed time-frame.
If you have pearl jewelry, you need to make sure that you keep your jewelry away from blow dryers. Blow dryers will quickly pull moisture out of your pearls, which will in turn cause them to become dry and brittle. This will cause them to lose their natural luster and sheen.
If you really want to be flashy and turn heads, wear onyx or crystal jewelry. You can save your money and still get a beautiful piece of jewelry.
Have you ever had a gold or silver chain knot up and kink? It’s difficult to get them to go back to normal, and often this requires a jeweler’s expertise. However, before you call up that jeweler, try using a little cooking or baby oil to try and get those kinks out of your necklace. It works!
You have seen that the process of buying and selling jewelry will take some effort, work and research so that you will be able to buy the items that you are looking for, or sell your jewelry for a profit. Use the information you’ve learned in this article to make successful jewelry acquisitions.