Whether you own precious metal jewelry for sentimental reasons or for pure bling, it’s important to clean it regularly. You need just a little bit of maintenance to ensure that your precious items retain their luster for long.
While cleaning jewelry is important, it becomes necessary if you wear it regularly. There are tiny nooks and crannies in jewelry that can hide germs, pathogens, or even your skin cells. Your rings and other items must be cleaned using lukewarm, soapy water. A soft toothbrush can also loosen and remove debris collected in the crevices.
Jewelers often use specialized cleaning methods such as ultrasonic tanks. There are also some lotions that can be used to clean precious metals. However, lotions are often costlier and less efficient than a simple solution of soap and water.
Let’s see how you can clean your precious metals.
Cleaning Your Silver
Silver objects get tarnished easily when they come in contact with the air. The good thing is that this damage is not permanent. Most jewelers and supermarkets stock cleaning lotions for silver restoration. You need to apply a fluid on silver and then remove it after some time. After this, the metal is polished for the perfect shine.
This works much better than using a soap solution. Silver jewelry looks good as new after this treatment. However, if the piece of jewelry is too tiny, it’s best to just clean with soap and water.
Gold Cleaning
Gold withstands the test of time incredibly well. Unless strongly soiled, gold is an easy-to-clean metal. You can use warm soapy water with a soft toothbrush to make it shine again. While there are some chlorine-based chemical products that can be used, it’s best to avoid them because they may cause the metal to crack. You also need to check the gold’s quality before applying chemicals because if it’s of a low carat rating, it can react adversely to chemicals and cleaning agents. If you are planning to sell your gold, it is a good idea to use these tips to add that lost shine back.
Cleaning Other Precious Metals like Platinum or Diamond
For precious metals like platinum or diamond, an old toothbrush and some soapy water is enough to restore the shine. Soak the piece of jewelry in warm soapy water for a couple of minutes. Then, just clean it with an old toothbrush.
Once it is clean, rinse it with warm running water and dry with clean, soft cloth. If required, an ultrasonic device can be used to dislodge debris accumulated in links or smaller areas. However, before you go ahead and purchase the ultrasonic cleaners, double check with the manufacturer about its usage with your particular jewelry type.
Like any other souvenir, precious metal items need to be cleaned. Whether this is jewelry or a memorable memento, you need to take care of these items, so that their shine does not dull with the ebb and flow of time.