Cleaning gemstones
A big part of our jewelry have gemstones attached. Thus, jewelry cleaning at home includes cleaning gemstones. Many of the gemstones occurring in todays jewelry are best cleaned using the same methods as you use when cleaning pearls and if there’s still grime on the gemstones this can be brushed away using a soft jewelry brush. Though you have to be careful not to use any kind of brush, soft or not; for jewelry or not, on the softer types of gemstones. All types of gemstones actually don’t have the same hardness. These are many different types of gemstones and since so many varieties are used in the jewelry industry, it can be hard to separate them. Gemstones are divided into groups regarding five different aspects of quality. These aspects are :
Color
Size
Hardness
Clarity
Cutting
Among these aspects, the hardness is the primary measure for the value of a specific gemstone. The five qualities can be used as guidelines when cleaning gemstones just as the quality of other type of jewelry can give clues in general jewelry cleaning at home.
Short list of keywords for cleaning gemstones:
Don’t soak – use wet cloth
Avoid heat and strong light
Dry completely
Use cleaning machines only for hard gemstones
Avoid using paper towels
If you don’t know the exact qualities of your gemstone jewelry you have to be careful when cleaning gemstone jewelry at home. It’s much better to have to repeat the cleaning method several times because all the dirt isn’t removed the first time, than to use too strong a cleaning method and risk damaging your gemstones. There are some things that can effect your gemstones in bad ways; see the list with tips below.
Porous gemstones such as softer opaque should not be soaked completely in water or some other cleaning liquid. A better way to clean this type of gemstone is to wet a part of a jewelry cloth or other piece of fabric and then use this to gently clean the gemstone. If you use something else than water you have to make sure no chemicals remains on the gemstone after the cleaning; dry it well. Never use ultrasonic or sonic jewelry cleaners on softer gemstones, this may cause them to crack. If you have jewelry with gemstones regarding which you’re unsure about the hardness, always contact a professional jeweler for advice or cleaning. Changes in temperature and some weather conditions may damage your gemstone jewelry if you’re not careful. Strong light and heat are such conditions to which especially opals and similar gemstones are very sensitive. The gemstones can dry out and loose their shine and beauty. Some materials, suck as paper towels, can cause scratching to your gemstones so don’t use this kind of materials when cleaning gemstones at home. Paper can also damage and scratch the metal, like gold and silver, into which the gemstones are fastened. It’s a good idea to invest in a jewelry cloth.
Ionic cleaner: pearls, emeralds, opals
Soft cloth: porous gemstones (jade, lapis, turquoise, malachite)
NOT Sonic cleaner: gold, diamonds, rubies, silver, sapphires
Turquoises: warm water-dip, soft toothbrush, rinse in warm water, air-dry