Saturday, August 17, 2013

How To Clean Costume Jewellery

By Anita Hale


If you value jewellery then you'll definitely want to know the best way to look after it. This short guide offers some great advice on how to clean your jewellery and ensure it stays looking its best.

The sad truth is that virtually all jewellery will suffer from abrasion over its life-time. This really is unavoidable. But this shouldn't be cause for despair. It is possible to noticeably reduce this deterioration. The first thing to do is by limit the situations in which you wear your jewellery. For instance, make sure you remove bracelets, necklaces and rings before you go to bed. Wearing jewellery while you sleep can lead to accidental scuffing. This is why it's safest not to wear any at night. Perspiration is known to contribute to discolouration of numerous metals. Therefore, it is advisable to remove your accessories when working out or playing sport. There are also chemical agents found in lots of household products that shouldn't come into contact with certain metals. Always be careful about mixing your jewellery with things like perfume and hairspray.

There is a growing fashion for using oxidised metals in jewellery. This metal has been treated to make it look black. You have to look after such jewellery to keep this black appearance from spoiling. First of all, you should never wear these types of jewellery while swimming. This is because exposure to chlorine will causes significant damage to the metal. The same rule applies to gold and silver jewellery. You should also never use silver polishing liquid on oxidised metal or pearls.

Most jewellery hasn't been made with oxidised metal. In this case proper care must be taken to prevent oxidation from taking effect. Oxidation generates tarnishing and discolouration of metal. Salad dressings, synthetic detergents and even specific categories of rubber can include sulphur compounds. These chemicals can tarnish silver jewellery if they make contact.

You can strip away tarnish by cleaning your jewellery with silver polishing liquid. But this needs to be applied sparingly. Some silver polishing fluids are very abrasive and can do more harm than good. If you are just concerned with day-to-day cleaning than a silver polishing cloth is more than adequate. You can also use soapy water and a toothbrush to remove dirt from your jewellery.

Lastly, it's worth mentioning that pure metals are much softer than their cheaper counterparts. This also makes them more susceptible to marking and other types of damage. A 14 carat gold ring will be softer than one made from gold plate. This is because cheaper metals are mixed with alloys which make them harder. It is recommended never to wear jewellery made from soft metal next to pieces made from harder metal. If you follow this advice you will reduce the likelihood of your expensive jewellery getting scratched.




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