How to Clean and Care for Gemstone Jewelry

Gemstones are usually the most expensive part of jewelry. Each kind of stone needs special attention as there isn't a one size fits all for cleaning them. I have covered how to clean diamonds in a previous post but here are some tips for the most common gemstones.

• General Cleaning Tip - You can rinse all gemstones with water and dry with a microfiber cloth.
• Amber & Amethyst - Amber should only be cleaned with water and a mild detergent. Exposure to high heat or chemicals will damage the stone. Avoid steam cleaning.
  
• Aquamarine - Water, mild detergent and a soft brush work well to clean aquamarine. This gemstone scratches easily so store separately from other jewelry.
  
• Chrysoberyl (Cat's Eye) - Water, mild detergent and a soft brush work well to clean Cat's Eye. Avoid ultrasonic and steam cleaners as they can damage it.
  
• Citrine - Clean with water and a mild detergent. Avoid extreme temperature fluctuations as they can cause fractures in the stone.
  
• Emerald - these are fairly soft stones and should only be cleaned with water, a soft brush and a microfiber cloth. Keep emeralds away from all cleaners. Take of emerald jewelry when cleaning or doing the dishes.
• Garnet - Garnet is a soft stone and should only be cleaned with a soft microfiber cloth and water. Extreme temperature changes can cause fractures, so avoid steam cleaning and cold weather.
  
• Pearl (cultured and natural) - Clean with a soft dry microfiber cloth. Occasionally clean with water and mild detergent. Keep away from ultrasonic and steam cleaners. Very easy to scratch and makeup can stain them.
  
• Peridot - Very fragile stone should only be cleaned with water and soft cloth. Chemicals and sudden temperature will damage the stone.
  
• Opal - Clean with water and mild detergent. Opal scratches easily so store carefully.
  
• Ruby & Sapphire - both of these gemstones can be cleaned with an ultrasonic cleaner or the same mixture of 1 part ammonia and 6 parts water used to clean diamonds.
• Tanzanite - This very fragile stone should only be cleaned with water and a soft microfiber cloth. Avoid extreme temperature changes and hitting the stone on any hard surface.
  
• Topaz - Clean with water and mild detergent. Fractures can be caused by temperature changes.
  
• Turquoise - Water, mild detergent and microfiber cloth are safe to use on turquoise. Chemicals, heat and ultrasonic cleaners will damage turquoise. Avoid steam cleaning.

All stones are not created equal. Many stones are treated with coatings to increase their color and brilliance, so be sure to check with you jeweler that these tips won't harm your jewelry. You can clean your gemstones with water and dry with a microfiber cloth if you are unsure.

Cleaning and Caring For Diamond Jewelry

Diamonds are said to be a girls best friend. I don't know about that, but they are one of the hardest materials on earth. Because they are so hard, you have to be careful when storing them. Diamonds can scratch other jewelry and other diamonds, so be sure to store them separately from other jewelry.

Cleaning Diamonds
Diamonds are fairly easy to clean. Most can be cleaned with a mixture of 1 part ammonia and 6 parts waters. Soak the diamond in the mixture for a few minutes then brush off with a soft brush, a small artist's paint brush works well. Since diamonds can be set in different metals, be sure the mixture won't harm the metal. For example, silver shouldn't be exposed to ammonia. These pieces can be cleaned with a steam cleaner like the Scunci Steam Cleaner. Just hold the jewelry with a pair of pliers wrapped in microfiber and shoot it with the steam from all angles. Rinse in warm water and pat dry with a microfiber cloth. An ultrasonic cleaner filled will water will also work well for diamond jewelry, but be sure to check all settings before and after. The vibration can shake the diamonds loose.

You should have your diamond jewelry checked and cleaned by a professional jeweler at least once a year. They will be able to clean the stones and verify the security of the settings. Many jewelers will do this free of charge.

Homemade Jewelry Soak

For your more delicate jewelry pieces a soak will clean better without harming the jewelry. Soak the jewelry in a half-and-half solution of cold water and household ammonia for at least thirty minutes. Lift the item out and gently tap around the front and back of the mounting with a small soft paint brush. Swirl the item in the solution to rinse. Finally rinse in warm water and dry with a lint-free cloth like microfiber. Be sure not to snag the prongs holding stones.

Homemade Jewelry Cleaner

For jewelry items that are made of hard metals and won't scratch easily, you can use the following homemade jewelry cleaner. First, mix 1/4 teaspoon mild liquid detergent and warm water into a medium size bowl. Work the water and detergent into a good foam with a spoon, then gently brush the jewelry with a soft toothbrush while it is in the suds. Rinse the jewelry with warm water and pat dry with a soft lint-free cloth. Microfiber works great.

Jewelry Care Week

This week we will be exploring the best ways to care for and store your jewelry. Here are some tips to get you started:

• Jewelry should not be stored together since it can be scratched and tangled.
• Diamonds are the hardest substance known to man, but a diamond will scratch another diamond.
• Take your jewelry to your jeweler at least once a year. The jeweler will give your jewelry a professional cleaning and check the setting making sure the stones are secure, usually for free.
  
• Never use toothpaste to clean your jewelry. Toothpaste and other abrasive substances will scratch your jewelry.

Caring For Jewelery While Cleaning

We had a minor accident around our house last week. While cleaning the shower a diamond fell out of my wife's ring. Talk about washing money down the drain. This taught us how important it is to remove jewelery while cleaning. Cleaning while wearing your jewelery will wear it out faster than normal. Bumps and snags are major contributors to jewelery damage, but many cleaning chemicals can damage softer stones like opals and emeralds. Build the habit of removing your jewelry while you clean now to save yourself from costly repairs.

Shake Your Jewelry Clean With An Ultrasonic Cleaner

I bought an Ultrasonic Cleaner a few years ago I and keep finding more uses for it. When I first saw it on sale at Harbor Freight, I didn't think I would use it enough to get my money's worth. Boy was I wrong.

My first intention was to use it to clean jewelry. My wife has a few rings she wears everyday and they can get pretty dirty, especial if she forgets to take them off before gardening. We put a few of her rings in the machine with some water and set it for 3 minutes. When the timer went off we where surprised too find cloudy water. We got the rings out and washed them off with clean watter and cleaned them off with a microfiber cloth. They looked brand new.

Our excitement overwhelmed us as we cleaned earrings, bracelets, necklaces and other jewelry we could find. The Ultrasonic Cleaner cleaned everything very well. Then I tried my watch. I wear it everyday and until I cleaned it in the Ultrasonic Cleaner I had no idea how dirty it got. The first day we had the machine we spent a few hours just finding things to clean in it. Here are some of the items we have found over the years that we clean regularly in it:

• All kinds of jewelry (rings, earrings, watches, bracelets, necklaces) - The only thing you have to watch for with watches or jewelry is that it must be submersible. The water will probably damage leather bands on a watch.
• Glasses and Sunglasses - You will be surprised how much gunk can collect on them.
• Coins - My coins in my collection have never looked better.
• Combs and Brushes - Make sure you remove the hair first.
• Electronic Shaver Heads - Just the savings from cleaning these has paid for my ultrasonic cleaner.
• Wagner Power Painter Nozzles - Forgot to clean my power painter nozzle and thought I would have to buy a new one, not after I cleaned it. I added a tablespoon of turpentine to the water to boost this, but I don't know if I needed to.
• Gun Parts, Machine Parts, Car Parts, Lots of Parts
• And much more

If you clean any jewelry or small machine parts regularly I recommend getting an Ultrasonic Cleaner. There are lots of brands and models, but the two features I have found most useful are a timer that runs longer than 90 seconds and a fan to cool the unit. I have found that most things take about 3 minutes to get really clean. When you run the machine for this long the motor can get hot so a fan will help it last longer. When you get your machine, I hope you have as much using it as we do.