Each piece of jewelry is carefully handcrafted and should be taken good care of. With proper care, jewelry can keep its original luster and charm for a very long time. Most of jewelry has something in common in caring and cleaning, but also varies in different material and type.
Basic care will help preserve and protect your jewelry for years to come. Here are some useful tips for jewelry caring in common.
1) Avoid contact with acidic substances and chemicals, such as perfume, soap, bleach, cosmetics, etc, which could affect the brightness and color of the jewelry.
2) Take off your jewelry when sleeping, bathing, swimming, gardening, cooking, moving heavy objects, and applying creams and lotions.
3) Keep away from salty waters, especially seawater, hot spring, and sweat.
4) When taking your jewelry off, gently clean it with a piece of soft cloth to remove fingerprints and grease. For jewellery with plating layer, you should be careful, don't scrub too hard, but be thorough.
5) Always store your jewels in a clean, dry place away from natural sunlight and heat. It's better to keep them separately in a fabric-lined jewelry case, or in a box with numerous compartments and dividers.
6) Do not wear jewelry in conditions where friction or pressure may wear down the color or cause scratches on the surface.
7) If you mix and match different styles, try not to wear too many pieces of jewelry on one part of your body in case they scrape against each other, causing abrasion and scratches.
925 Silver jewelry
Silver is an active metal that easily reacts with sulfur in the air, can tarnish quite quickly . Therefore, it should not be worn in a place with strong chemical gas. After contact with sulfur soap, it must be washed and dried immediately. Chloride in sweat also has an bad effect on silver.
Silver and gold jewels cannot be worn together, as the movement of molecules will make silver jewelry turn yellow.
The best way for caring is to wear silver jewelry every day. The oils in your skin help prevent tarnish and keep it luster. (This also varies depending on your own body chemistry. Very few people's sweat contains ingredients that make silver black.)
It should be stored properly while you are not wearing your silver jewels, better to use a ziploc plastic bag to prevent the silver surface from contacting the air and tarnish.
Don't wash the jewelry with dish detergent frequently. The best way is to clean it with a jewelry polishing cloth.
Gold jewelry
Gold is very soft and easy to change the shape when pulling tightly on the skin. So better to be careful when wearing and taking off the gold jewelry.
Add a small amount of detergent in warm water, gently brush gold jewelry with a soft toothbrush, after that rinse them with water, then wipe with a soft and dry cloth.
Wrap gold jewelry with dry and soft cloth, then store them separately from other metals in a jewelry box if not wearing.
Brass jewelry
Brass jewelry may tend to darken with wear and time depending on body chemistry. Take off your jewelry when you are likely to sweat, which could speed the process.
Clean your jewelry with a soft cloth or warm, soapy water. Do not using polishing cloths or polishing liquids.
Avoid contact with harsh chemicals like Chlorine, perfume, body sprays or lotions.
Store your jewelry in a clean, dry and airtight container. Humidity and moisture can speed up the tarnishing. Keep pieces separate from one another after you wear them.
Stainless steel jewelry
Avoid harsh chemicals which can damage the surface of the jewelry.
Use a polishing cloth to polish and dry your pieces to shine them.
Stainless steel jewelry is normally highly polished, easily to get scratched. You should wear the pieces in a way that minimizes any contact with other items.
Keep stainless steel jewelry separately from that made of other metals. It is best to keep them in individual bags or boxes.
Pear jewelry
There are many tiny pores on the surface of the pearl. So it's easy to tarnish and turn yellow in places with dust and other chemicals.
Take them off when swimming, hairdressing, cooking, doing chores, sleeping or applying cosmetics.
Don't rinse the pearls with water, which could enter into the small holes and may destroy the pearls. For daily care, just moisten a velvet cloth with pure water, then wipe the surface of the pearl gently.
Don't touch the pearls. Lots of people like to rub the pearls with their hands unconsciously. This actually affects the luster and brightness of the pearls. Oils on skin could adhere to the pearls and make them yellow.
Wear pearl jewelry frequently. Pearls need to breathe and their luster and glow will only improve when worn regularly. They love being worn, and don't like being stored in box.
Diamonds jewelry
Stay away from radiation. The color of diamonds may change once they expose to radiation, and the change is irreversible.
Clean your diamonds regularly. Oils and cosmetics are easily adsorbed on the diamond, and cover up its color and luster. Add an appropriate amount of detergent in warm water. Immerse the diamond jewelry in water and gently brush it with a soft toothbrush, then rinse with water and dry with a soft cloth.
Acrylic jewellery
Unlike metal, most types of acrylic are quite fragile, especially when exposed to cold. Extended exposure to direct sunlight or heat can cause warping. Alcohol and other chemicals can crack, degrade, or even destroy this material. Acrylic can be easily broken when it is extruded or collided by the outside force.
When wearing acrylic jewelry, try to avoid the use of tools, and pay attention to body bags and seat belts. Store it properly.
Plated jewelry
By taking proper care of plated jewelry, you can extend its life.
1) Keep the jewelry away from chemicals, perfume, body sprays or lotions.
2) Keep your hands clean when handling the pieces.
3) Don't expose the jewelry to chlorinated or salty water.
4) Take the jewelry off when bathing, swimming, exercising, doing chores, putting on make-up or lotions and etc.
5) Don't clean the jewelry in harsh chemicals or abrasive cleaners.
6) Avoid friction, brushing or rubbing, as this can make plating layer flake, exposing the metal below, cause the piece to wear down quickly and to flake off.
7) Store your jewelry in airtight containers/bags to avoid any oxidizing or humidity contact.
