Whether it is an old heirloom necklace from your grandmother or a 6-carat diamond engagement ring, everyone has a piece of jewelry that is near and dear to their heart. This article provides many helpful tips on keeping your jewelry looking snazzy and beautiful for many years to come.
Protect yourself when purchasing diamonds by keeping written documents of your purchases as proof. This is the only way that you can prove the 4 C’s you were guaranteed when you purchased the piece or stone. Treat your sales receipts and appraisals as contracts of what you can expect from your purchase, especially if they are not up to the quality you were guaranteed.
When buying diamonds, do not fall for the selling ploy of deceptive jewelry lighting. Many of these have quartz or halogen bulbs. The kinds of lights they emit can really make stones appear much brighter. This is because they shine it purposelessly behind them to give them a false glow in an attempt to attract customers.
Don’t purchase used earrings without disinfecting the posts or ear hooks. Other people have been wearing them, especially true for vintage pieces, and there are plenty of germs lying around. Take some lemon juice or hydrogen peroxide, squeeze some onto a cotton swab and run it over the ear pieces of the earrings. This will kill the germs, making it safe to wear the earrings.
Do not use ultrasonic cleaners and jewelry cleaning liquids on your precious and semi- precious gemstones. Most gemstones are easily damaged and their properties become corroded by the chemical properties in jewelry cleaning liquids. Ultrasonic cleaners can shake the gemstone settings apart and deteriorate the glue used to secure the gemstone in the setting.
Personalized jewelry will never fail as a gift, especially for Mother’s Day. A ring with the birthstones of all her children will make a Mom beam with delight. You could also get a bangle bracelet with her childrens’ names engraved on the inside. My favourite is a ring with “I Love You” engraved on the inside.
Use an egg to antique your sterling silver jewelry. Just boil the egg, chop it up, and put it in a bag with your silver piece. In a few hours your jewelry will change colors and then you can polish it to a beautiful antiqued look. This is an effective method because egg contains sulfur, and sulfur causes the reaction when mixed with sterling silver.
Look for creative ways to add value to your handmade jewelry. Instead of using a cardboard earring holder, you can offer earrings that are mounted on a handmade birthday or Mother’s Day card, or a necklace that is packaged in a vintage seed packet. Finding ways to encourage gifting of your wares, can make all the difference in the world for your cash flow.
Taking care of jewelry is one of the most important aspects of owning fine pieces. This can seem very difficult, but with the proper information, it is very easy to maintain even the finest of pieces. Make sure that you are properly informed before attempting to clean or polish any pieces.
In order to keep your jewelry at its best, remove your jewelry before doing house cleaning, going swimming, performing personal care such as using lotion and bathing, or before exposing yourself to extreme heat or cold. The metal in your jewelry can tarnish or even crack if it is exposed to harsh chemicals such as chlorine, or if it is rapidly heated and cooled.
As you can see, there are many different methods of maintaining jewelry depending on the type and quality. Hopefully this article has assisted you in discovering some tips and tricks. Every piece of jewelry is unique in its own right so no matter what type of jewelry you have, it deserves to be well taken care of!