How to Keep Your Jewelry Clean Between Trips to the Jeweler
When was the last time you cleaned your jewelry? Bet you can’t remember. That’s alright. We can fix that. Here’s how. And you don’t need any fancy-schmancy equipment to get the job done, either.
GOLD jewelry: Fill a large (like a salad bowl) bowl with tepid or lukewarmwater. The container should be big enough to hold about a quart of water . DO NOT USE AMMONIA! DO NOT USE ANYTHING WITH CHOLRINE! Chlorine dissolves gold, so if you clean house with your jewelry, you’re losing gold everytime.Squirt a little dishwashing liquid in, about a quarter teaspoonful.I prefer Dawn(it’s petroluem based, did you know that?) because it’s inexpensive and effective at lifting the skin oils, lotion, hairspray, makeup, etc. away. Add one capeful of rubbing alcohol. When you put your necklaces and bracelets into the bowl, make sure you’ve closed the clasps. If you’ve got earrings to clean, pour some of your cleaning water into a teacup, and drop in your earrings. If they’ve got posts with backs, take them off and drop them in with the earrings.
Let everything soak for a little while. Take an old toothbrush, and if you’ve still got crud on the earring nuts, or on the clasps, gently scrub them with the toothbrush to loosen it up. Use the bristles to get underneath the mounted stones. When you’re ready to rinse, fill another big bowl with tepid or lukewarm water. Put the jewelry in the clean water and swoosh everything around very gently. Get a clean towel, and lay everything out to air dry on the towel, except the earrings.
For the earrings, get a tea strainer or a tea ball, and put them in there, and then put that into the bowl of water to rinse. That way those little pieces won’t get away from you. I DO NOT recomment rinsing your jewelry out under running water in to sink. That’s a great way to lose an earring or an earring back and we don’t want that to happen. If you give a little shake to the strainer or tea ball, anything your brushing and soaking didn’t remove should lift off the earrings. Note: when pouring out the water, pour it out through a strainer, just to make sure you don’t lose anything! Use a seperate clean washcloth to lay out your earrings to air dry on.
If you don’t have a polishing cloth, use an old cotton (nylon or acrylic socks aren’t absorbant) sock to polish, and wipe away any excess moisture. If you use polishing cloths, you’ll need one for you silver, and one ofr the gold, or platinum. Silver tarnishes like crazy (I know you’ve noticed) and you don’t want to rub that onto you nice clean gold. Gold tarnishes too; it just takes longer.
If you have lots of chains, do them seperately from your pearls or other gemstone and bead jewelry. I recommend doing them last, after the earrings. Make sure they’re clasped. If you don’t have a jewelry box with hangers for them, I suggest keeping them in seperate lunch baggies. That way they won’t get tangled up together between wearings, and they’re less likely to get kinked.
SILVER: Keeping silver free and clean from tarnish can also be a challenge. A good quality paste silver polish generally can be found at your local hardware store. In a pinch, baking soda may be used. Pour a some into a saucer. Dab it with a soft damp cloth. Rub gently on the silver. Be very careful that you do not scratch the suface! Rinse thoroughly with cold water. Pat dry with clean, soft cloth.
Remember:
DO NOT USE AMMONIA! It will pit and blacken your silver!
DO NOT SWIM IN CHLORINATED POOLS OR ALLOW CHLORINE to touch your jewelry. Chlorine with dissolve it, little by little.
Always take your jewelry with prongs, like earrings and rings to your jeweler once a year to have them checked. That way, if one has gotten a little loose, you can have that fixed, and hopefully not lose the stone. And a good jeweler generally will not charge you for that service, unless a prong needs to be replaced, which is more cost effective than replacing the stone!
And, as general rule, never go into a pool with any jewelry, or anything loose. It can:
- a) come off and go into the drain
- b) if you’re in it, YOU can get stuck along with it.
- c) if you’re in a body of water, like the ocean, Gulf, lake or river, a good current can pull your rings from your fingers, and your earrings out of your ears. I witnessed a woman lose her engagement ring at the beach in St.Petersburg. She was not a happy camper. (Nor was her husband)
Final Note:
To prevent build-up of tarnish, when piece is clean (brand new, BEFORE it’s worn) paint item with clear nail polish, on one side. Let dry thoroughly. Do other side.
And for good measure, when it’s not being used, store your silver in an air-tight container, like a baggie. The next time you are at your favorite jewelry store buying silver, ask your jeweler for some anti-tarnish strips, so that you can keep your silver shiny.
Regards,
Anne the Beadbear
Wear Your Beads In Good Fortune!
Liberty
I have always considered myself to be patriotic, although initially I didn’t know what it meant. When hearing Jimi Hendrix’ rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner”during Woodstock, it suddenly became clear to me.I wept at the pride that I suddenly felt. At the same time, all the anguish of being of African, and Native American ancestry.Because not everyone acknowledged “that all men were created equal”, although much lip service it made.
I appreciated and understood the statement when Abbie Hoffmann’s wore the shirt made out of the American flag, meaning we Americans wore our patriotism like a brand or logo.It depressed me that some people chose to interpret a desire for peace and racial equality as somehow not being American.It made me physically ill a few years later when it became ‘chic’ for the Bicentennial to wear red, white and blue bikinis, and baseball caps, when the Confederate-sympathizing Southern rednecks adopted it as statement,it became a symbol to me of the dichotomy between the words of the Constitution, and how people of color, women and gays were still being treated.
It wasn’t until the election held in 2008, that I started to become more optimistic. When Mr. Obama was inaugerated, I designed my first piece in the colors of the flag. This is the second piece I have created, in hope for the future.
The colors of freedom and liberty, the American flag rendererd in blue aventurine, and carnelian, with vintage Venetian glass rose or “wedding cake” beads. They are hand-knotted with Bohemian glass rose beads, and gold-coated seed beads, 14/20gf findings; clasp is 14kt vermeil. Approx. 18 inches, earrings approx. 1¼ inches. Available online at A.R.T. Precious Collectible Jewelry http://www.beadbear.com/e0211.shtml
Wear Your Beads in Good Fortune!
Talismans & Charms in Jewelry
News from the Couture Blog Trend Report 2 indicates that charms and talisman jewelry is trendy again.
At A.R.T. Precious Collectible Jewelry we feature many items that include eye beads from aroung the world ans well as other talisman to protect for evil and to attract and promote good fortune. I have collected eye beads for over thirty years.
I use antique and contemporary Venetian, French, Dutch, Bohemian and Turkish glass beads to make necklaces, bracelets, earrings and other unusual ornaments. Precious and semi-precious gemstones of the highest quality, gold and silver are used to accent. Quality craftsmanship distinguishes my work from the rest.
Beads reflect a tradition dating back to 3000 BC These beads were worn to promote good luck, and for protection from misfortune (the evil eye or malocchio). Archeological evidence suggests that concepts linking eyes and protective magic to beads evolved in western Asia and Africa, and were carried west and east with developing trade routes. The oldest eye beads made were drilled stones like agate and carnelian.
The evolution of glass beads began with human discovery of glassmaking techniques in ancient Egypt. Beads were incorporated into jewelry, personal adornments, and everyday utensils of Egypt, the Hebrews, China, India, Persia, and Italy.
Beads are still used and admired in Africa, the Middle East, and southern Asia, as well as the Americas. As in ancient times, they adorn people, homes, pets, livestock and vehicles as protective talismans.
I see both antique and contemporary beads as a link to the past through work that will last into the millennium. Beads and jewelry reflect where we are today, what we were, and who we will become. One can neither break nor ignore the thread of history, for like a strand of beads, the result would be chaos. Below are links to a few of my evil eye bead and talisman items.
http://www.beadbear.com/g0904.shtml
http://www.beadbear.com/c0905.shtml
http://www.beadbear.com/e0901.shtml
http://www.beadbear.com/f1003.shtml
http://www.beadbear.com/h1001.shtml
Wear your beads in good fortune!
Gold
Gold jewelry demand declined 10 percent by volume in the United States in the first quarter year over year, according to the World Gold Council’s Q1 gold demand trends report.
http://www.nationaljeweler.com/nj/fashion/jewelry-fashion-reports/article_detail?id=26496
Fear not Goldbugs! I am here to satify all your aurous jewelry desires
At A.R.T. Precious Collectible Jewelry we offer jewelry designed with a variety of different media to provide affordable beautiful fashion jewelry. I use vermeil, which is sterling silver overlaid with thick coatings of either 18, 22 or 24kt gold. I also use Swarovski aurum crystal (crystal beads with gold (overlay), as well as your favorite high-karat goodness! Shop today at beadbear.com
Wear your beads in good fortune!
Green is the IT Color this Year
Green is the hot color this year. All shades of green as indicated in the May 16 at Couture Trend Report 3
Couture Jewelers are always on the cutting edge — setting trends and keeping their customers in vogue.
This year everyone will be green with envy over this bevy of Couture jewels that showcase the color of the year from pale seafoam to deep, dark emerald.
Visit A.R.T. Precious Collectible Jewelry http://www.beadbear.com has your favorite shade of green, in pearls, gemstones from amazonite to turquoise with all kinds of unusual glass beads. Shop today! We use Google Checkout for your secure shopping convenience.