Jewelry is often passed down from generation to generation and demands extra care. Certain types of jewelry have remained popular over the centuries. Some of the most popular jewelry in the world is also the costliest (think: diamonds). So, people often wonder how they can make these jewels last longer.
It’s no secret that diamonds are the hardest mineral on the planet. But, that doesn’t mean that diamonds don’t need any maintenance. Buying diamond jewelry is one thing, looking after it is quite another. Keeping precious and special diamond jewelry looking good as new takes effort.
But, you’d be pleased to discover that caring for your jewelry is easier than you think. These tips and tricks will help you keep your jewelry looking newer for longer.
Clean Your Diamonds Often
It may sound like elementary advice, but it can help more than you think. You can keep the stone on your engagement ring looking good as new if you clean it often. But, you shouldn’t use anything you have at hand to wash your diamonds.
It’s important to use a gentle solution to clean diamonds at home. You can make these solutions with mild soap and water. It isn’t advisable to use harsh soap and abrasive materials to clean diamonds. This goes for both mined diamonds and lab created diamonds.
You can use a simple solution once or twice a week to keep your diamonds sparkly. There are special solutions for those wanting to clean their diamonds at home.
You can even use a clean toothbrush after you dip your stone in the cleaning solution. Make sure that the brush you use has soft bristles to not damage the diamonds in any way.
A brush will help you reach every corner of your ring, stud, or pendant. Dirt and oil often collect in these corners which are quite stubborn stains. Aside from cleaning diamonds at home, you can even take them to a jeweler to clean them properly.
You should opt for this kind of cleaning at least twice a year for the best results.
Store Your Jewelry Properly
This tip is best for those that have a collection of diamonds and other gemstones. Diamonds tend to damage other gemstones if brought into constant contact with them. They can damage other diamonds in this way too.
It’s the hardest mineral in the world so it’s not hard to believe that diamonds can scratch other stones. It makes sense to separate your diamond jewelry from other kinds of jewelry.
A good tip to remember here is to save the boxes that your diamond jewelry arrived in. So, if you have a set of wedding day jewels or other kinds of precious jewelry, don’t toss the boxes away. Instead, keep them to store your diamond jewelry when it’s not in use.
It makes sense to preserve your most treasured pieces of jewelry in this way. Diamond engagement rings often have great sentimental value and should be stored properly. After all, you won’t be buying many more of these!
If you haven’t saved the boxes, don’t fret, there are other ways to store your jewelry. For instance, you can use soft cloth pouches to store your diamond jewelry. These are especially useful for storing jewelry that is easy to lose like diamond studs.
Whichever storage method you use, make sure the gemstones are in a cool and dry location.
Remove Tarnish From Silver Jewelry
If you own any pieces of silver jewelry, you likely know that they get tarnished at one point or another. It’s not feasible to try and protect your jewelry from tarnish. Instead, you can focus on ways to remove the tarnish once you spot it.
The exposed layer of your sterling silver jewelry will react with chemicals in the air around it. The layer of tarnish that forms on the jewelry is called ‘patina’. This makes the jewelry appear a pale shade of gold.
This usually happens if you wear your jewelry a few times. Also, you may notice that certain materials end up burning your sterling silver jewelry. These materials include sulfur, rubber, and chlorine.
So, if you want your silver jewelry to look good for longer, you should ideally keep it away from these materials. Also, to remove the tarnish, you can use a simple cleaning method.
Line a container with tin foil, 3 parts baking soda, and 1 part water. Mix the baking soda with the water until it dissolves completely. Then, let your silver jewelry sit in this solution for around 10 minutes.
Then, rinse it and let it air dry. This is likely to get most, if not all of the tarnish off your silver jewelry.
Wear the Right Jewelry Size
An often overlooked aspect of keeping jewelry looking new is wearing the right-sized jewelry. Wearing the wrong size can damage the jewelry. For instance, if you wear a ring that’s too big, you risk ruining the shape or breaking it. In such a scenario, it’s easy to see why it makes sense to invest in the right size instead.
When you go to buy a diamond ring or tennis bracelet, make sure you take your measurements beforehand. If you visit a jewelry store, a piece of jewelry would be happy to do it for you. But, if you’re buying, say, lab-created diamonds online, you’ll need to measure yourself.
Fortunately, companies that sell these jewelry pieces have size charts on their websites. You can refer to these charts to ensure you have the right standard size. If not, you can always choose to customize your size by adding a note for the jeweler of your choice.
With diamond rings and other types of jewelry passed down as heirlooms, size is likely to be a problem. In such cases, you can try and have the jewelry resized with the help of a jeweler. It’s important to find a good jeweler that won’t let the antique jeweler lose its essence during the resizing process.
Conclusion
These tips and tricks to preserve your jewelry will keep them sparkling for decades to come. You can preserve everything from your engagement ring to casual diamond tennis bracelets using these tips.
It’s important to make sure that you follow a routine to keep your jewelry clean. After all, the tips may not be tough to follow, but you need to be regular with them. Consistency with your preservation will prove to be a great investment in the long run.
Also, it helps that none of the tips we outlined are particularly expensive. So, those with all kinds of budgets can use them as often as they’d like to take care of their jewelry.
