10 Tips For Quick Cleaning Your Jewelry

Everyone’s jewelry needs to be cleaned from time to time. You’ll notice that your jewellery is tarnished, or just plain grimy when you look at it. It may also be scratched and damaged. How do you clean your jewelry quickly?

Jewellery needs to be looked after in order to sparkle. We have a list of our top 10 tips for cleaning your jewellery quickly. These will help you to clean and maintain your gold, silver, and gemstone jewellery quickly.

Our comprehensive guide to jewellery cleaning and care will help you to understand the risks and issues involved in cleaning jewellery. This guide will provide all the information you need. If you are unsure of any terms used in this article, please consult our extensive jewellery glossary which contains over 100 definitions of key terms.

Let’s get going…

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1. CHECK YOUR JEWELLERY

Sometimes it can be hard to notice that your jewelry needs a cleaning. This could be because you wear it every day and don’t notice any changes, or because it’s stored somewhere and you don’t see it very often. It’s possible to be alarmed at how dull and grimy your favorite pieces look.

It is easy to clean most pieces of jewellery. Continue reading to learn how.

2. GIVE IT A WASH

Although this is the easiest cleaning step, it should be done for all jewelry. It might be all you need for many pieces of jewellery, especially for fashion or solid gold.

Warm water and a mild, fragrance-free liquid soap will be used to wash your jewelry. Castile soap, soap to wash woollens, or a gentle soap that isn’t moisturizing, antiseptic, or harsh chemical should all work well.

To remove grime from crevices, use a soft bristled brush or a cloth. Avoid soaking soft gems like pearls or opals in water too long. This could cause damage.

After cleaning it, rinse it well and dry it thoroughly.

3. TRY AN ULTRASONIC CLEANER

You can use an ultrasonic cleaner to remove dirt and dust from small pieces. This cleaner will remove dirt and debris from places that are otherwise difficult to reach.

An ultrasonic can’t remove tarnish but will treat complex pieces (exceptions are below) that have many crevices in which dirt can stick.

4. BUT DON’T USE ULTRASONIC TOO MUCH

Avoid ultrasonic cleaning if your silver jewellery is tarnished or has areas that have become blackened. Some finishes and soft gems can be damaged by this process.

5. TARNISH REMOVED WITH A POLISHING CLOTH

Particularly sterling silver will tarnish with time. However, other precious metals, including lower-carats of Gold, can also tarnish. It is normal for metals to tarnish and it is simple enough to remove precious metals.

To remove tarnish from precious metal jewellery, you can use a cleaning cloth for precious metal jewellery, such as the polishing cloths that we offer in our online shop.

After you are satisfied, rinse the piece and dry it thoroughly to remove any chemical residue.

6. OR: USE A SILVER DIP INSTEAD

Silver dip can also be used to quickly and easily remove tarnish from sterling steel. This works especially well with silver chains, which can be hard to clean with just a polishing cloth.

Silver dip and similar products should be available at your local hardware shop, large pharmacy, or supermarket. You might also consider a local jewel shop.

Follow the directions carefully. Rinse well afterward and dry thoroughly.

7. BUT DO NOT ALWAYS USE A SILVER DIP

Avoid silver dip if silver jewellery has blackened parts or soft gemstones such as lapis lazuli or turquoise. This could damage some gemstones.

8. AVOID HARSH CLEANING

Do not use old jewellery cleaning methods that involve toothpaste or baking soda paste. These methods can remove very small amounts of metal each time, and over time they will cause damage to precious jewellery.

Jewellery that is made of gold vermeil, gold-filled or plated should not be cleaned in this manner as it can cause damage. To better understand the reasons for this, learn more about the different types of jewellery made from gold.

Use a brush, polishing cloth or any other tool that rubs against the metal with care, especially if your jewellery is delicate, such as gold plating or blackening.

It is not a good idea to get too excited about jewellery cleaning!

9. CLEANING SILK THREAD NECKLACES

You can wash your necklace with silk thread, such as our popular forget-me–nots silk necklace, in warm soapy and then rinse it.

To dry silk, lay it flat or hang it up. To straighten the silk, use an iron to place it on a setting.

10. KEEP YOUR JEWELLERY PROPERLY

Once your jewellery is clean and tidy, think about how to store it so it doesn’t get dirty again.

It is best to avoid storing precious metal jewellery where it can get humid, especially in the bathroom. This will increase the likelihood of tarnishing. You should take extra care if you live in a humid area and have more frequent cleaning done.

Precious metal jewellery should not be exposed to free-flowing air. This will reduce tarnish and keep dust away. If you are able to, keep it in a small pouch, jewellery box, or something similar.

You might like to display your jewelry, but it will need cleaning more often.

It is important to remember that metal rubbing against metal, hard gemstones, or other hard surfaces can cause scratches. Keep precious metal jewellery safe by keeping it separate and ensuring that pendants don’t rub against beads.