Jewellery Cleaning

Jewellery Cleaning

Always take you gemstones to a jeweller, as they may offer a professional cleaning service, or be able to confirm which cleaning method is best for you particular piece of jewellery.

Hard gemstones such as ruby, sapphire, emerald, and aquamarine can be cleaned using warm soapy water, and an old soft toothbrush, or soft cloth. Be sure to rinse thoroughly as leaving soap on your gemstones can be detrimental and cause skin complaints such as dermatitis.

The Water should be warm not hot as some gemstones are oiled, and water being too hot or too harsh scrubbing can remove this oil, leading to the gemstones needing to be re-oiled. This is especially the case with emeralds.

Some places recommend that harder gemstones can be put in an ultrasonic cleaner, though always be very wary of any softer stones that maybe in cluster rings. When in doubt- leave it out. Beryls also are not recommended for this cleaning process despite their relative hardness.

Opaque gemstones need special care- these include lapis lazuli, opal, and turquoise, to name a few. Never place these into an ultrasonic cleaner. Keep away from solvents and other chemical solutions as these stones can be porous and will absorb liquids, which can build up and discolour the stone. These gemstones should be wiped clean gently with a soft, moist cloth. This advice extends to organic gemstones such as pearls and corals as well.

All of these opaque and organic gemstones should also be kept away from cosmetics, perfume, hairspray and other such products as these can be very damaging, especially to pearls.

Opals should also be kept away from string heat and light as they have high water content and can be ‘dried out’ and damaged.

Be careful with your gemstones as any plan of weakness will leave it liable to chipping etc. always removed jewellery before exercise or gardening etc.

Always store your gemstones separately. Softer stones may become scratched by harder ones, while gemstones such as diamond may also damage the gold settings of your other jewellery.

All jewellery should be kept away from chlorine as this can have a detrimental effect on some gold pieces; as such all jewellery should be removed before swimming.