Buying or selling jewelry can be very intimidating to someone who has never done it before. It can easily lead to a bit of information overload because of all the resources available to those new to jewelry practices. Below are some tips to assist you in getting all of this information organized to where you can start buying and selling jewelry much smarter.
Your jewlery needs to be kept in a place where it is protected from air and humidity. A box designed especially for jewelry gives the best protection, but a cloth bag can also work. Humidity and air tends to cause precious and non-precious metals to tarnish. Precious metal jewelry can be polished to fix tarnish, but non-precious metals coated with a finish will never get back to their previous state.
Pewter jewelry has been widely popular for decades. If you’re looking to invest in jewelry pieces made from pewter, make sure that they are lead free. For a long time, pewter jewelry has contained lead causing many unhealthy side effects to the wearer. Usually modern jewelry made from this metal is advertised as lead-free if it doesn’t contain any.
Many people see jewelry labeled as sterling silver plated and oftentimes think they’ve hit the jackpot when they purchase it at a very low price. In this case unfortunately, you do get what you pay for. This type of jewelry only contains a very thin coating of sterling silver on top of a cheap metal which can usually be identified as copper. The jewelry will eventually tarnish and cause the copper to show through underneath with enough wear.
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.
Nothing tells a woman you care like buying her jewelry with her birthstone. The fact that you took the time to research her birth date, and then her birthstone, will show her that you are willing to take the time to make her happy. No woman can turn that down!
To assure your jewelry accentuates your best features, choose pieces that work with your face shape. For a heart shaped face, try chokers and dangly earrings. Round and square face types look great in teardrop earrings, and long necklaces are also an excellent pick. Those with rectangular faces should choose short necklaces and round earrings. If you have an oval shaped face, you can pull off any type of necklace, but angular earrings are best.
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.
Always keep your receipt. Making sure that you have a means of returning the item in question is one of the most important things to do in jewelry shopping. You never know if the person you are purchasing for may not like the piece, or if you may find a better deal elsewhere.
Hopefully, these tips have provided you with some very valuable information, as well as given you a way to organize all the thoughts and information you may have already had on buying or selling jewelry. Keeping these tips in mind when you start buying or selling can help you in the jewelry world.