In today’s time, we all have jewelry made of different materials at home. Surely you have something with silver, copper or brass… also with different stone pearls or real pearls. I know that most of my jewelry is made of silver and stones. I also have some copper jewelry with wire wrap or weave. We start with some information on how to take care of copper jewellry
Over time, copper jewelry will lose its bright shine and take on a patina of its very own. This is due to oxidation. Moisture in the air causes copper to tarnish or patina. Some people like this natural patina. If you like to keep your copper jewelry bright and shiny, use one of the following copper jewelry cleaning methods.
To clean copper jewelry using ketchup, simply smear ketchup over the copper. Rub the metal between with your fingers until the metal brightens. Rinse with clean water. Put water and a little dish soap in a bowl. Put jewelry in the bowl and swish around to remove to any ketchup that may still be on the surface, crevices or in the beads. Shake jewelry against a soft cloth to remove any water inside the beads. This technique will clean your copper jewelry just fine, but I like to follow-up with the baking soda paste for additional shine. See instructions below.
Lemon Juice copper jewelry cleaning methods
You need :
A small glass or ceramic dish (do not use a metal bowl)
Lemon juice
Soft bristle toothbrush
Soap and a drying towel
Place one piece of jewelry in the dish and pour the cleaning agent over the item. Allow jewelry to sit for a short time in the liquid. Ten to twenty minutes should be long enough.about 10 to 20 minutes. If using lemon juice, pour a couple of table spoons of lemon juice over your copper then turn the copper every few minutes to assure an even cleaning. You may have to change the cleaning liquid a couple of times if the copper is extremely dirty. To move the process along, you may use your old toothbrush to clean just a little more, rinse and pat dry with a towel.
Now we look Silver items cleaning :
If you’re worried about your sterling silver jewelry dulling out, you should wear it more often. Believe it or not, your body’s natural oils will keep your sterling silver shining.The more often you wear your sterling silver jewelry, the nicer and brighter it will look.Leaving your jewelry sitting in a box or drawer will only allow the color to dull out quicker. The materials will be sitting still, leaving the copper composition of the sterling silver to oxidize. That’s way you’re silver is turning black . When you doing you’re cleaning at house please keep you’re mind that … take off you’re silver rings . This strong chemicals are not good for you silver and so bad on you’re nice stones in you’re rings . When you go swimming in the swimming pool or even natural waters.. take off all your jewelry, chlorine is not good for silver and many stones do not like water at all. Like, for example, moonstone, labradorite or some others. Because when they get wet, they can crack or split completely. This applies to almost all stones actually. Avoid unnecessary water contact to your stone jewelry. This applies to all stone jewelry. Also stone beads.
But sometimes you have to clean your jewelry anyway. The best way is probably warm water and faire/yes washing up liquid and a soft soft toothbrush. If you have an ultrasound washing bath, there is also only hot water and Yes/Faire washing-up liquid. Rinse and dry with a soft soft cotton cloth. Or air dry. No hard materials. Know that toothpaste was sometimes used …. it pours in tiny polishing agents that can scratch and damage more through scratches and jewelry looks worse than before ..
Stone jewelry :
Always store your crystal jewelry in a cool and dry place. It should also be stored separately from your other jewelry pieces to avoid scratches. An airtight zip lock bag and a separate jewelry box will always be a good idea. Use a soft and damp cloth to gently wipe the crystals. Never use ultrasonic cleaners and hard chemicals on your jewelry. Chlorine, saltwater, household cleaners, detergents, and lotions can cause the discoloration of crystals. All our jewellery is made using natural gemstones. Be aware different stones have different hardeners affecting their durability and frequency of wear.
You can clean your jewellery using warm soapy water and a toothbrush or using a polishing cloth. Jewellery should be removed when sleeping and stored in an airtight box. But most best is just use dry soft cotton cloth . Think long time, even with silver jewelry that contains other than diamonds,do not to wash it in a sonic bath.
When the stone beadnecklaces or bracelets are strung with string or rubber thread… it is good to redo these sometimes… every 2-3 years it is good to do then the knots stay in between and the stone pearls do not rub against each other. The same also applies to freshwater and saltwater pearls.
In my site you don’t often find these pieces of jewelry, but I just wanted to take the info short and quickly… The same thing applies… They are fragile against all water and chemicals.. Ultrasound bath. The best way is to wipe with a soft, semi-moist cotton cloth. Replace string or rubber thread in between times . And they do not need any kind of hardcore cleaning ..
And att the last …
General care information
- Don’t swim (or shower) with your jewelry on. Chlorine, salt water and natural hot springs are all bad for a large number of softer stones, in addition to being very bad for all silvers, gold and copper.
- Never wear your jewelry while applying hairspray, perfume, sunscreen, hand lotion, etc. Wait until anything you have sprayed/applied has thoroughly dried/absorbed before wearing your jewelry.
- Avoid piling up your jewelry when storing it – you may be mixing hard with soft stones – which may then be scratched.
You may ask why this is so important – many people leave their wedding bands on 100% of the time and there seems to be no damage, right? So I can do the same thing, right? Well, no. Assuming the wedding bands have diamonds, those are the hardest stone on the Mohs Hardness Scale and will withstand a lot compared to the precious and semiprecious stones I use for my jewelry.
Interesting fact: Most household dust contains Quartz, which has a Mohs hardness of 7. That means simply using a cloth to wipe dust off a “softer” stone may scratch it. It is much safer to rinse your stone jewelry in clear water (using regular dish soap, if needed for cleaning).
If you take care of your jewelry, they will last a long time and be beautiful!!!!!