Fortunately for jewelry owners, gold jewelry does not tarnish like silver pieces do and therefore does not require as much maintenance to keep in wearable shape. However, gold pieces can still get dirty during normal wear and should be cleaned to ensure that the pieces look the best that they can be. Since silver has such a reputation for tarnishing and its cleaning requirements, gold jewelry is often overlooked as also needed some cleaning attention every now and then.

Even though Gold can be cleaned with a variety of commonly available household cleaners there are still some precautions that should be taken before getting started. One serious warning that gold jewelry lovers should heed before attempting to clean their pieces is to never let your pieces come into contact with chlorine or bleach. These harsh chemicals can permanently discolor your precious jewelry so contact with them should definitely be avoided.

Another helpful hint for jewelry that has stones set into is to try to avoid letting soap scum build up near where the stones are mounted. To prevent this, you should use a slightly damp cloth dipped in the cleaning solution while you are cleaning around the area with the stone. You should also make sure that your gold piece is rinsed off completely once you’re done trying to clean it with the solution so that any residual soap does not later discolor your jewelry.

As previously mentioned, there are different household cleaners that can be used to clean your jewelry. The easiest to use would probably be liquid dish detergent. Combine the dish soap with warm water and soak your jewelry for a couple of minutes before using either a cloth rag or a toothbrush to scrub the dirt away. You can use seltzer water or club soda as the carbonation in those liquids can loosen up more of the dirt on the jewelry.

There are other techniques to clean your gold pieces. You can mix one part ammonia to six parts water and soak your jewelry for no longer than a minute before using a soft cloth to polish it. Toothpaste also works to clean your gold; just be sure that you get all of the toothpaste out of the crevices before you finish cleaning.

Tags: Cleaning Tips, Gold Jewelry, Gold Pieces

This entry was posted on July 22, 2010 at 10:25 pm and is filed under Gold Jewelry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.