The Fiji Times

Jewellery cleaning methods

- By LILLIANNE MATAI

JEWELLERY and accessorie­s are known to fade if not used with genuine gem, gold or silver carats. In the Pacific, we have a range of jewelry and accessorie­s that need the utmost care and attention for instance we have pearls, gold, silver and diamond carats.

These are used for fashion purposes or to display a sense of wealth as seen all over social media by our favourite celebritie­s.

In order to successful­ly show off your fits you must have accessorie­s that compliment the outfit and what better way to do this then cleaning your jewelry every now and then to keep it at it’s sparkling best.

To help you learn about how to quickly and easily clean and care for your gold, silver and gemstone jewelry visit website www.simonewals­h. com

1. Check your jewellery

It can be easy to miss that your jewellery needs a clean, either because you wear it all the time and don’t notice the changes or because it’s put away somewhere and you don’t look at it too often.

You might be a bit alarmed when you realise just how grimy and dull some of your favourite pieces are.

2. Give it a wash

Wash your jewellery with warm water and a gentle colourless and fragrance free liquid soap. Castile soap, soap for woolens or even gentle hand soap with no moisturise­r, antiseptic or harsh chemicals should work well.

Use a cloth or soft bristled brush to help get grime out of crevices.

3. Remove tarnish with a polishing cloth

If your precious metal jewelry is tarnished, use a precious metal jewelry cleaning cloth to remove it, such as the profession­al quality polishing cloths available in online stores.

4. Avoid harsh cleaning

Never use ‘old wives’ jewellery cleaning methods involving toothpaste or baking soda paste which is rubbed onto the metal.

Also take care when using a polishing cloth, brush or anything else which is rubbed against the metal, particular­ly if your jewelry has a more delicate finish, such as gold plating, blackening or a patina.

5. Cleaning silk thread necklaces

Lay the piece flat or hang it up to dry the silk should straight. Otherwise use an iron on the silk setting to straighten it out.

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Use toothbrush to clean your jewellery.
Picture: WWW.PORTSMOUTH­JEWELERS.COM Picture: WWW.BLOG.BRADFORDEX­CHANGE.COM Wipe jewellery with polishing cloth. Use toothbrush to clean your jewellery.

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