Caring for Your Jewelry
- Jewelry is wonderful but easily damaged. Try to protect any jewelry from scratches,
sharp blows, harsh chemicals, extreme temperatures and sunlight.
- Store jewelry separately so it doesn't scratch other jewelry.
- When doing household tasks such as gardening and cleaning, be certain to re move
rings.
- Put your jewelry on after washing and applying any makeup/hair spray.
- Take off jewelry before swimming in a swimming pool. The chlorine can cause damage
to various gemstones and gold. Gemstones may become loose in their settings (and
possibly fall out).
- Before doing high impact sports take off your jewelry as you may scratch the metal or
chip the gemstones.
- Avoid storing your jewelry next to a heating vent, window sill or on a car dashboard.
- Store jewelry away from sunlight as the sun may fade the gemstones.
- Always store bead necklaces (such as lapis, pearls, etc) flat as silk stretches over time.
Jewelry Hardness: How Gemstones and Jewelry are Scratched
- Hardness is based on a gem-trade standard called the Mohs scale. The higher the
Mohs scale number, the harder the stone is. The highest Mohs scale rating is 10
(diamonds). Anything with a Mohs scale rating of less than 7 is easily scratched (such
as coral, lapis lazuli, opal, pearl, and turquoise). Gold, silver, and platinum are only
Mohs 2-1/2 to 4. Always carefully store any fine jewelry.
Store Gemstones out of the Sun
- Common gemstones that are damaged in sunlight (there may be more):
- Amethyst: becomes more pale
- Ametrine: may change color
- Apatite: pink variety fades
- Aquamarine: becomes pale
- Aventurine: translucent types often lose color
- Beryl: brown or orange types may change to pale pink
- Celestite: fades in direct sunlight
- Chrysoprase: becomes more pale
- Citrine: may change color
- Fluorite: green and purple types change color
- Kunzite: becomes pale or loses color
- Rose Quartz: becomes more pale
- Smokey Quartz: becomes more pale
Store Bead Necklaces Flat
- If you have bead necklaces such as a beautiful strand of lapis or pearls, store them flat
as silk stretches over time. Stretched bead necklaces easily come apart. When
knotted necklaces stretch, it also really detracts from their beauty. Most jewelers will
restring necklaces or reset gemstones (for a fee).
Polishing Jewelry
- Sterling silver jewelry will polish up by rubbing or buffing it with a soft cotton cloth or a
Sunshine Cloth. If you store silver jewelry in plastic bags with an interlocking seal, it will
be less prone to tarnish. (Do NOT store your pearl jewelry in plastic bags!)
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