How to Care for Your Gold Jewelry

Most people collect at least a few pieces of gold jewelry over time, and many make the mistake of treating them like any other type of jewelry that they own. This can be a real problem, because gold isn’t like many of the other metals that are available. It’s very soft, and must be cared for properly to make sure that it remains in good shape over time. 

Remove Your Jewelry Often

Remember to take that gold necklace or ring off before every shower or bath that you take. Also remove it before you’ll be doing hard labor or before you do anything with cleaning solutions. That’s because any chemical contact can dull the gold and force it to be cleaned more often, which only speeds up wear and tear. You need to be careful about wearing it while doing manual labor because gold is very soft and will scratch easily. You also can’t wear it into a swimming pool, because chlorine can discolor gold permanently. 

Buff Your Gold 

Once your piece of gold begins to lose its shine the first thing you should do is rub it with a chamois cloth. This is often all you need to do to bring that shine back once again, and it’s much easier on the piece than a harsh cleaning would be. 

Wash Your Gold

About once a month, or once every few months you should wash off your gold jewelry to keep it in good shape. Put a few drops of mild dish soap into a bowl of warm water. Now add one piece at a time into the bowl and let them each sit for a minute. Remove them and wipe them off with a soft cloth. Any tough spots that didn’t come off during this gentle cleaning can be wiped away using a child’s soft-bristled toothbrush in a gentle stroke pattern. Make sure that you rinse the gold under clean water for a few moments to remove any traces of soap from its surface. 

Store with Care

Finally, you have to be careful how you store the jewelry. Store each piece in a cloth-lined box section, or into a soft pouch to help avoid issues with scratching. 

Gold is a delicate metal that requires special care. Take your time with it and treat it very nicely and you’ll get many years of service out of that beautiful jewelry. For additional tips and tricks to keeping all of your jewelry in the best condition possible, speak with us here at Draper's Jewelry. We have many fine pieces, and care instructions that come with them.

How to Effectively Clean Silver

Whether you have silver rings, necklaces, lockets or genuine silverware, it’s important to know how to properly maintain and clean your jewelry. That’s why we’ve put together a quick guide on taking care of your silver and cleaning it up to keep it looking fresh and new. Follow along with these tips and steps and you’ll have clean and shiny silver that you can be proud of. 

Hand Wash with Soap and Water

One of the most basic ways to keep your silver in good shape is to hand wash it with soap and water on a regular basis. If you take the time to wash away any dirt and grime that’s accumulated on your silver jewelry at least once a week, you shouldn’t have to worry about tarnish and other issues as much. Be sure to use a gentle cloth along with a mild soap solution to wash the silver. Then rinse it and dry it completely. Wash in straight lines and never use an abrasive material such as a rough sponge that could cause scratching. 

Apply a Silver Polish to Remove Tarnish

Tarnish is the natural corrosion that occurs on silver over time. When your pieces begin to look darker and more worn it’s time to polish them up and remove that tarnish. Rub a high quality silver polish over the item using a cellulose sponge. Be sure to rub in straight lines, not circles and don’t scrub very hard. After a minute or two of moderate polishing let the polish sit for a few minutes and then rinse with running water. Dry the item off with a soft lint-free cloth. 

Store it Carefully

Silver isn’t as soft as gold, but it is still prone to scratching and could easily be damaged if you aren’t careful. That’s why you should store all your silver pieces away from one another. Use a necklace holder to keep necklaces open and protected from rubbing. You can also individually wrap your jewelry pieces in a soft cloth to prevent rubbing if you will be putting several items in the same section of a storage container. 

Silver is a beautiful metal, but it’s also prone to scratching and tarnish if it isn’t cared for properly. Be careful to wash and polish it regularly and store it away properly and you shouldn’t have any issues with your favorite jewelry pieces. 

Draper's Jewelry can provide beautiful silver pieces for those looking for something timeless, classic and magical. Contact us today to find out more!