Tips To Maintain Gemstone Jewellery

Wednesday, October 12, 2011, 9:46

Gemstone jewelry is extremely expensive and also one that involves intricate craftsmanship. However, over a period of time they lose shine and start looking dull. A round of polishing from any jewelry store will cost you a fortune. This is because they charge you for every single piece of gemstone it. Even a small ring of Kundan work may have several and different types of gemstones. Needless to say that it makes more sense to be cleaning gemstone at home.

If you are going through a tough time maintaining gemstone jewelry then use these cleaning tips given below to make your job easier.

Tips To Maintain Gemstone Jewelry:

First and fore most, never spray perfume on your gemstones. Do not cover them with makeup or body lotion. All these cosmetic things are bad for stones. They are universally bad for any kind of jewelry because they all are studded in metal.

The most important part of cleaning jewelry that has stones is to know what are the particular properties of that gemstone. For example, diamonds and sapphires are the hardest stones so you can soak them in hot water for an hour and still nothing will happen to them. On the contrary, coral and turquoise are easily destroyed by heat.

Gemstone jewelry made out of the harder stones like diamonds, sapphire, emerald etc can be cleaned by soaking in a lather of lukewarm water and a mild washing powder. For the softer stones like opal, moonstone, amethyst etc you have to use a hand wash soap instead of washing power.

But corals cannot be washed with soap as it wears away easily. You may have noticed that a coral ring fits loosely after a couple of years. Turquoise is a stone that hates moisture. Cleaning these gemstones in ethyl alcohol is the best option.

While cleaning gemstones remember an important point. Stones are valued firstly for their carats and secondly for their cut. An uncut diamond will cost you much less that one that is cut to perfection.

So the point is that even if there is a minor scratch on the stones while cleaning jewelry then the value of it will be greatly diminished. Always use a soft non abrasive brush or cloth to clean it.

Never store these stones in closed containers immediately after washing them. Alcohol evaporates easily but water takes its time. Dab them with a clean dry cloth and give them breathing time for at least half an hour. If you store it with the tiny beads of moisture still present in the nooks and corners then the dampness ruin it.

Jewelry that has stones set in it cannot be stored in soft pouches or velvet napkins. It has to be kept in a proper position in a hand jewelry box or else the stones will fall out of their sockets.

These home improvement tips can help you in keeping your gemstone jewelry as good as new for several years.