Caring for your jewellery

By Justin Krall, G.G.

The following information is provided to educate and inform. eBay(TM) is not liable or responsible for any type of damage or loss caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly, by the information below.

Most people do not clean their jewellery on a regular basis. For some people, it may be difficult to find the time to hand-clean each item of jewellery they own. Others may not know about how different types of jewellery should be cleaned or what convenient methods for cleaning jewellery are available.

Most jewellery owners will have their jewellery cleaned when they are visiting a jewellery store. At the store, the clerk will place jewellery in an ultrasonic cleaner that uses hot water, detergent, and high-frequency vibrations to loosen dirt from gold and gemstones. After a few minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner, the jewellery is then subjected to high-pressure steam from the jeweller's steam machine. The heat and pressure from the steam removes the majority of oils and dirt that form on jewellery from daily wear. Never clean pearls, emeralds, or opals in ultrasonic cleaners.

The problem with this method, however, is finding the time to visit a jewellery store on a regular basis, and very few people can afford to purchase ultrasonic and steam machines. There are liquid jar jewellery cleaners available that will remove some of the oils and dirt, although they require several minutes of hand scrubbing with a small brush. Be sure to read any warnings about what types of jewellery can be cleaned using the liquid cleaners. Toothpaste is another material that some people use to clean jewellery. This method still requires several minutes of hand-cleaning each item, and it is very difficult to reach under gemstones in their mounting. Small, ultrasonic jewellery cleaning machines that are used at home are also available. These cleaners can be used with hard stones, but fragile gold and silver pieces, enamelled jewellery, pearls, opals, or emeralds should never be cleaned in them. Foil-backed stones and emeralds are best cleaned by professionals. When in doubt, consult a professional before cleaning your jewellery.

The preceding material was written by Justin Krall, G.G. These are the opinions of the author, not the opinions of eBay, and therefore eBay does not validate the accuracy of or endorse these opinions.