How to clean jewelry

By  

Caring for your fine jewelry is easy, and it's essential to clean and store it properly if you want it to sparkle and glow. Helena Krodel of the jewelry information center shows us how to baby your bling.

Share Your Comments
fashion, style, clean
How to clean jewelry

Jewelry cleaning solutions

  • The most affordable solution is made by mixing three parts water and one part ammonia.
  • Over-the-counter formulas that are affordable and clean most jewelry are available at many jewelry stores.

Cleaning gemstones and diamond jewelry

  • You can clean most gemstone jewelry this way, but consult with your jeweler first. Drop the jewelry in the solution, take a soft bristle toothbrush and scrub out any debris.

Cleaning pearls

  • With pearls it’s a little different. It’s recommended that you wear them often. Put them on last. When you take them off, make sure you brush them and rub them with a soft chamois cloth and store them away from all your other jewelry so they don’t get scratched.

Professional cleaning by a jeweler

  • Every six months to a year you should take your jewelry to a reputable jeweler for a cleaning. They have something called an ultrasonic cleaner, which works best for cleaning jewelry. But it’s not safe for all gemstones, such as emeralds.

Remember:

  • You can make your own jewelry cleaning solution at home by mixing 1 part ammonia with 3 parts water. This is ideal for diamonds and most gemstones.
  • Every 6 months to one year, have your jeweler use an ultrasonic machine -- the best way to clean jewelry.
  • Pearls should be rubbed with a soft chamois cloth and stored away from all other jewelry to prevent scratching.
Transcript

Hi I'm Helena Krodel of Jewelry Information for howdini.com. Today we're going to be talking about how to care for and clean your jewelry. It's actually quite simple. A simple formulation of water with ammonia is actually the most affordable and the easiest. So if you take three parts water and one part ammonia and mix it together, you can clean most gemstone jewelry. You drop it in and if you take a soft-bristle tooth brush and just scrub out most of the debris. That works just the same for diamonds too.

Now for pearls it's a little bit different. Wearing your pearls often is actually recommended. The most important thing however is to put them on last when you get dressed. And then when you take them off, make sure you brush them with a soft chamois cloth and them store them in your jewelry box away from all other jewelry so that they don't get scratched.

Now over the counter formulations are available and are very affordable too. And you can find them at most jewelry stores. And that cleans almost all jewelry. Every six months to a year you should bring your jewelry to a reputable jeweler to have it cleaned. They have something called an ultra-sonic cleaner which will be the best way to get your jewelry sparkling. However it's not safe for some gemstones like emeralds. And that's how we care for and clean our jewelry. I'm Helena Krodel for the Jewelry Information Center for howdini.com.

meet theexpert
  • Helena Krodel

    Helena Krodel Jewelry Information Center Helena Krodel's the Associate Director for Media and Spokesperson for Jewelry Information Center, the public relations arm of fine jewelry and watch industries. A non-profit trade association in NYC, JIC is the objective authority on fine jewelry/watches.
    more about this expert »

make the most of MAKEUP
Applying makeup
View collection »
what'snew

get more fromexperts