One of the most remarkable things about the world of jewelry is its ability to span centuries without losing value. In the past, only the wealthiest individuals could afford access to the most beautiful gems, diamonds, and precious metals. Today, however, almost anyone can find and wear jewelry for their style and budget. These useful and proven tips about jewelry will help you find the perfect piece.
Do research on your fine stones, especially if you engage in regular activities that may chip or completely cause them to break into pieces. Not all stones are created equal. Some quartz, peridot, amethyst, to name a few, are among the most fragile stones and will require very gentle wear, care and storage.
When dealing with precious and fragile stone jewelry, take them to get professionally cleaned. This is much better than scratching or destroying them yourself with regular jewelry cleaners. Even the jewelry cloths may be too much for some stones. Make sure though that they are not cleaned too often as this can be very counterproductive and actually weaken the stones.
Costume jewelry is worth considering if you’re going to work and don’t wish to wear any jewelry that has a high value attached to it. Costume pieces of jewelry don’t contain any precious metals or gemstones, which makes them highly affordable and widely available. This type of jewelry does tend to tarnish over time and cannot be shined with a polishing cloth.
If you don’t have any jewelry cleaner handy, try using toothpaste with baking soda to help clean tarnish off of your sterling or pure silver jewelry. Just rub the toothpaste on the tarnished area with a soft cloth and clean off. Make sure to dry the jewelry to prevent future tarnishing.
When storing your fine jewelry in a chest or case, wrap each piece in a small piece of velvet cloth. That way harder gemstones will not scratch softer gemstones and metals. It also helps pieces not get tangled with themselves and the velvet helps to keep the pieces safe from excess moisture.
Even though some of the pieces may be attractive, you should stay away from gold filled jewelry. No matter what the seller may say, gold filled jewelry can turn your skin green and the colors can fade away. The best thing to do if you do not know if it is gold filled is to just not buy it.
To get a stubborn knot out of a necklace chain, sprinkle the knot with cornstarch or baby powder. The powder slips into each nook and cranny, lubricating the metal and making it much easier to untie the knot with your fingers. If the knot is particularly difficult, you may need to use a sewing needle to help.
If you are going to use a jewelry cleaning liquid on your jewelry, it is important that you first read the cleaning instructions very carefully. If you do not read the instructions carefully, you can end up destroying your jewelry. Make sure you follow the directions if you are going to use a jewelry cleaning solution.
While it’s easy to point the finger at the metals in your jewelry causing your skin irritation, it could be as simple as the jewelry needing a good cleaning. Since bacteria and dirt can build up on your jewelry causing irritation, a warm water and gentle soap cleaning is recommended to rid the irritants and hopefully the bad reaction as well.
With the information you have just read, you will be able to enjoy and appreciate all types of necklaces, rings, and bracelets on a whole different level than before. Far from being just pretty little baubles, different pieces of jewelry have the power to transform and transcend like very few things can.