Jewellery Cleaning - Methods and Risks

Methods and Risks

Maintaining a clean diamond can sometimes be difficult, as jewellery settings can obstruct cleaning efforts, and oils, grease, and other hydrophobic materials adhere well to a diamond's surface. Some jewellers provide their customers with sudsy ammonia cleaning kits. Many jewellers use steam cleaners. Some other jewellers sell small ultrasonic cleaners. Home-based cleaning methods include immersing the diamond in ammonia-based or ethyl alcohol-based solutions, or even a solution of mild grease dissolving detergent and warm water. Silver jewellery can be cleaned using aluminium foil, baking soda, and hot water. However, this practice is not recommended by most jewellers. ----

Certain types of cleaning can damage some jewellery. For example, some class rings are coated with a dark pigment to reduce their shininess. Some gemstones, such as white topaz, have an overlay to produce certain colours. Ultrasonic cleaning can remove this coating, if it is not a quality piece. Ultrasonic cleaning is also contraindicated for opals, pearls and amber, and any other gemstone that is porous. Gemstones that are glued in (a common practice with semiprecious stones in non-precious methods, and in class rings) should not be placed into an ultrasonic cleaner. An ultrasonic cleaner can cause stones that are loose in their settings to come out. Jewellery should always be examined for overlays and loose stones prior to cleaning with an ultrasonic cleaner or a steam cleaner. ....

A great way of cleaning copper jewelry uses a solution of lemon or lime juice with a pinch of salt. This solution is easy, readily available and will restore the shine to copper jewelry. Rinse the piece off well after dipping and dry before storing. Store in plastic resealable bags to prevent oxidation.