Since jewellery is precious, you have to take good care of every piece you have. Even your jewellery needs cleaning. Well, a small, soft brush – such as a child’s toothbrush – is helpful when it comes to getting into the crevices while cleaning jewellery. But take care not to scrub too hard, as it’s important not to disturb any settings.
Here are more other tips for you.
Gold
Before cleaning gold, you need to know what’s real gold and what’s gold-plated.
• Clean gold-plated jewellery with water only. If you’re not sure if an item is solid gold or not, treat it as plated or you may ruin it.
• Clean pure gold with a little bicarbonate of soda on a moist cotton ball and then rinse.
• Rub matt gold jewellery with onion juice to bring out its shine. Rinse it to get rid of the smell and then buff it.
• Clean dirty solid-gold jewellery with a solution of 2 tablespoons ammonia and 1-litre water, and then rinse and dry. For serious dirt, wash with a solution of 1 tablespoon methylated spirits and 1 litre of soapy water, and then rinse with water and dry.
• Add three drops of dishwashing liquid to a medium-sized bowl of warm tap water. Place the gold jewellery in the bowl and leave it to soak for 10 to 15 minutes before rinsing and drying. If more power is required, use carbonated water instead. Gold plate can be cleaned in this way as well.
• Store gold jewellery in soft paper envelopes to prevent it from getting scratched.
Bonus Tip: Restoring Gold Chains
1. Dissolve a little dishwashing liquid in warm water.
2. Add 1 or 2 teaspoons of powdered chalk and stir.
3. Pour through a funnel into a small bottle or covered container.
4. Place the gold chain in the solution, close it and shake well for a minute.
5. Remove the chain and rinse with water.
Silver
If you’re considering cleaning silver, remember that it oxidises, especially if you haven’t worn a piece of jewellery for quite a while.
• To remove tarnish from silver, line a deep dish with foil, place the jewellery in it, sprinkle with salt and pour boiling water over it. Wait for an hour before removing the jewellery and then buff it until it shines brightly.
• Protect silver jewellery from tarnishing by wrapping it tightly in foil.
• To remove a little tarnish, dab some toothpaste on your finger and rub the tarnished part. Then rinse and dry with a clean cloth. For larger jobs, make a spreadable paste of bicarbonate of soda and water, then rub it on with a damp sponge.
• Leave silver in beer overnight, and then rinse and polish to recover its sparkle. For an alluring shine, pour potato water over silver jewellery, rinse it with warm water and rub dry with a soft cloth.