You may have jewelery which has lost its shine that you want to sell or show it off in a dinner party. If so, you will want it to look its best. You may have received a ring with a precious or semi-precious stone, and have no idea how to clean it. Stones tend to blur if they are not taken care of. So why take your stone or jewelery to have it cleaned for $$$ if you can do this yourself.
Most people have different objects which they treasure for different reasons. Learn how to keep them clean. And make sure to take pictures of them (makes things easier, should they get stolen). If your jewelery or stone is rare and expensive, do contact a professional¬. This article is not responsible for your experimentation, but has been written by a constant researcher and enthusiast of stones and metals. Keep a safe environment, assess your workplace before you begin. Make sure you have what you need, you will be using elements which can be toxic on skin or if breathed in excess. Respect the work, prioritize your safety. Use gloves. Count your jewelery before you start, make sure the count is the same when you end the restoration.
Recommendations: Jewelery and stones require a minimum treatment. To begin, remove your rings to clean the jewelery, they can scratch other pieces, specifically crystals and stones. Some precious metals like platinum, gold or silver are used in jewelery, however, sometimes jewelery is just bathed in layer of precious a metal. These layers can easily lift off if starched. So always treat jewelery with much care. Do not use gold when swimming in pools, chlorine damages gold.
Gold Wash: To wash gold, you can submerge it in water with some detergent, use a worn-out toothbrush to clean the piece. Then put them on a towel and let it dry. Rub with soft cloth. Wrap them in a smooth cloth to store them away. If the items are valuable, photograph and insure them.
Diverse Metals: To wash Platinum, use the same method. To wash Lead, use fine alcohol. If the object is too dirty, place it in a solution of 1/10 white vinegar and the rest of the solution made of water. You can add some baking soda, not too much. Rinse with distilled water.
Golden Bronze: Clean with a solution of 2 spoons of ammonia in cup of hot water (handle with care). Apply the solution with a soft cloth (avoid skin contact). Rinse and dry off with soft cloth. Do not use metal polisher on golden bronze.
Shiny Bronze: Moisten the objects of shiny bronze with vegetable oil or with bitumen. Unpowder the shiny bronze with a soft cloth. Apply turpentine to remove markings.
Copper and Bronze: Use a mix of salt and lemon juice or rub objects with half a lemon sunk in salt. Rinse off. If stained, rub with solution of ammonia and salt, always use gloves when handling ammonia.
Jewelery: Submerge the jewelery in the specific liquid, (see above for each metal). Leave them for several minutes. Use a boll, or container do not use the kitchen sink. Brush the elements with a worn out toothbrush. After done, rinse the jewelery and leave them on a smooth cloth to dry.
Important: Before throwing out the water of the container, check if you have not forgotten a small stone or a jewelery.
You can also cover the jewelery with baking soda and clean it off softly with a worn out toothbrush. You can use a metal pin to pin down several rings together when rising them off. In simple words, keep them together and you will not to loose them.
Fragile Stones: Amber, Coral, and Jet are fragile stones. Wash them with the method described above for jewelery, water solution should be fine. Do not use chemicals.
Emeralds: These are fragile, valuable and can splinter. If they splinter, water can penetrate them through the cracks. It is best to leave the emeralds in the hands of the experts.
Opals and Turquoise: These are porous stones, this means they are not washed. They can be polished with a soft cloth. Brush the accessories with a warn out brush.
Hard Stones: Clean pure Rubies, Diamonds and other hard stones as described above, or use a special solution for stones.
Jade: This stone must be washed and dried off immediately. Use a soft cloth. Jade will be scratched if it becomes in contact with any abrasive surface or rough element.
Pearls: The best way to maintain Pearls and keep them clean and shiny is to use them. If they are not used regularly, they can be rubbed with a smooth cloth. They will shine in certain ways and have a particular weight if they’re genuine.
Know your stones, and know your metals, they have captured the imagination of many before you.
