Give TLC to Your Jewelry With These Cleaning and Care Tips

Birthstone jewelry pieces are not only popular to jewelry lovers but also to fashion enthusiasts who know that a woman’s beauty can be accentuated with the help of different accessories. With the wide variety of jewelry options available, birthstone accessories are one of the most popular especially for those who prefer different splashes of color on their jewelry instead of the common silver and gold trinkets. Not only birthstone jewelry is great as fashion add-ons but they are also great investments because of their qualities and values. Most natural gemstones are enhanced when you supplement it with industrial treatment the moment they are extracted from their sources. This practice determines how a birthstone should be treated or maintained.

Women who are fond of birthstone jewelry must treat them with care so when they are putting on make-up, spraying perfume, and applying hair styling products, jewelry must be worn last so that they are far from getting chemicals on them. After using them, they must be wiped clean with a soft clean damp cloth to remove make-up residues or sweat and prevent discolorations. When storing birthstone jewelry, it should be kept in an individual soft pouch to prevent other gems from causing scratches to it.

The usual make up of jewelry birthstones is that they are usually mounted on top of a metal jewelry such as gold or silver as in the case of pendants, bracelets and rings. The owner should be careful in wearing them because an accidental knock on the stone may dislodge it from its seat while an accidental scratch may damage the gem’s surface. Emeralds for example, should not be worn while doing house chores because it is too brittle and can be easily damaged.

One should also refrain from wearing birthstone jewelry while swimming or doing the laundry because chlorine and detergents are harsh chemicals that can dull the luster of the stones. When it comes to cleaning, water and mild soap can be used for these accessories. One advanced way of cleaning is by using ultrasonic cleaners. These are machines which can clean jewelry by barraging them with ultrasonic sound waves. The vibrations caused by the waves remove the dirt faster than the normal way of cleaning. However, using ultrasonic cleaners also has their downside because the vibrations can damage brittle gemstones if not used properly. Also, stones with the smallest cracks should not also be submitted to this process of cleaning because the vibrations can enlarge the small fracture with continuous vibration.

Just like other gemstones, jewelry birthstones also have their respective compositions and colors which are individually sensitive to different cleaning methods. Thus, in cleaning birthstone accessories, how the jewelers should clean it is dependent on the type of stone. January’s birthstone Garnet, for example, is best cleaned by using mild soap and a soft-bristled brush before putting it inside a soft cloth pouch. Diamond which is April’s stone, on the other hand, is better cleaned with ultrasonic cleaners and must be kept away from other gemstones because their hard surfaces can scratch other gems. As for the case of May’s stone which is the Emerald, it must also be cleaned by a jeweler from time to time because it has a softer surface and a brittle core so it can be damaged if cleaned carelessly. For Emerald, you can use only warm soapy water. Ultrasonic cleaners should never be used because this gemstone is too brittle to undergo such process.

Author Bio: hand crafted jewellery

Leave a Reply