Tips on How to Care for Your Fine Jewelry
1. Protect Your Fine Rings From Everyday Chemicals
Most people wear their engagement and wedding rings 24/7 without ever taking them off. It’s a common practice. Some people wear high school class rings, military rings, and other jewelry on a daily basis as well. The problem with this is, you may not realize how many kinds of everyday chemicals you come in contact with with your hands! Rings, in particular, come in contact with soap, shampoo, hair conditioners, hair gels, hair sprays, shaving cremes, perfumes, after shave and body lotions, just to name a few examples. And, depending what you do all day, your hands can also come in contact with a thousand other chemicals such as gasoline, furniture polish, inks, grease, oil, paints, chlorine, cooking grease, dirt, pesticides, et cetera. The least these chemicals can do is leave residues on your jewelry. Some residues can be hard to clean off, however. The worst they can do includes tarnishing, pitting, or discoloring the metal or the stones of your fine jewelry.
To avoid these problems, either wear protective gloves or remove your rings when your hands are going to be in any type of chemicals. As the old proverb goes, “It’s better to be safe than sorry!”
2. Inspect Your Fine Jewelry On a Regular Basis
Another tip on how to care for your fine jewelry is to inspect it on a regular basis. This is especially important for jewelry that contains stones. Check the stones to make sure they’re not loose in their settings. Look for bent, weak or broken prongs. Also, check clasps on necklaces and bracelets. Make sure they’re in good working order so you don’t lose your fine jewelry. Don’t forget to inspect the bands of rings. They tend to become worn with use.
If you find a loose stone, a weak spot, or any worn places on your fine jewelry, take it to a jeweler and have it repaired before you wear the piece again.
A good rule of thumb to remember when it comes to strings of pearls, is, that depending on how often you wear them, they’ll need to be restrung every year or two. Be sure to check the strand for weak or worn spots everytime before you put them on.
3. Store Your Rings, Necklaces, Bracelets, Pins and Other Jewelry Properly
Storing your fine jewelry properly is another key to caring for it so it will maintain its good looks. Never store wet jewelry. Dry it with a soft, clean cloth first. Ideally, every piece should be cleaned first before you put it away.
Fasten the clasps of bracelets and necklaces so they don’t get tangled. If your jewelry box doesn’t have individual compartments, each piece of your fine jewelry should be wrapped in non-acidic tissue paper or velvet and placed in a small plastic or cloth bag before they are stored. Silver, especially, needs to be stored in a plastic bag that will help keep air from tarnishing it. Storing jewelry in individually containers helps keep pieces from rubbing against each other.
Your jewelry box should be located in a cool, dry place.
