The Best Ways to Take Care of Gold Jewelry
While silver has recently surpassed gold in popularity, gold is unquestionably a classic jewelry metal that will never go out of style.
These methods can help ensure that your favorite jewelry items last a lifetime, whether you have a few gold pieces or your entire jewelry box is made up of gold.
DAILY WEARING TIPS
Gold jewelry should survive for years if properly cared for. Here are a few things to remember when wearing gold jewelry on a regular basis:
Gold is a soft metal, and while it has a unique brilliance and luster, it is also a soft metal. As a result, it is prone to dings, scratches, and dents. Wear gold rectangle signet ring, watches, and bracelets with caution and remove them before participating in high-contact sports.
Chlorine is gold’s biggest enemy: frequent exposure will degrade the structure of your gold jewelry, eventually causing it to break. Before entering a pool or spa, make sure you remove your jewelry.
While cleaning, cover or remove your jewelry because home cleaners containing acids or abrasives will harm the finish. When cleaning, wear rubber gloves (which we recommend anyway to protect your skin) or take your jewelry off completely.
Makeup, perfume, hairspray, and lotions can all damage your gold, so put it on last when getting dressed. To minimize your exposure, put these items on before your jewelry.
Remove jewelry before bathing: wearing jewelry while bathing might generate a soap buildup, resulting in a film on your jewelry.
REGULAR CLEANING TIPS
Your gold jewelry is exposed to skin oils, perspiration, dust, cosmetics, and more when worn on a regular basis. Clean your jewelry with a solution of 10-parts warm water and 2-parts dish soap on a regular basis to retain its luster. A couple of further hints:
The trick is to soak: According to Real Simple, you should soak your gold jewelry for three hours before gently scrubbing it with a soft brush. Rinse well with clean water and wipe dry with a clean cloth.
Bonus tip: following this, polish your jewelry with a jewelry polishing cloth for an extra shine! Using a paper towel or tissue to clean your jewelry will scratch it.
Clean with soap as needed: clean your jewelry at home if necessary, but don’t overdo it! Only clean your jewelry when it appears to be unclean or has developed a patina.
Other jeweler-recommended cleansers include rubbing alcohol for cleaning and sanitizing, but avoid bleach!
Keep an eye out for damage: During your routine jewelry cleanings, keep an eye out for any loose stones or damage. Cleaning damaged components can only exacerbate the problem.
HOW TO STORE YOUR GOLD JEWELRY
The next step in taking excellent care of your Water resistant jewelry is to keep it correctly after you’ve worn and cleaned it for the day.
Use a jewelry box: the ideal option is a clean, dry, fabric-lined jewelry box.
Wrap each item in a soft cloth as follows: If you don’t have a jewelry box, save those complimentary phone screen cloths and wrap each piece of jewelry separately with the extras.
Separately store pieces of jewelry to avoid tangling or scratching one another.
SCHEDULE A YEARLY CLEANING
All the above tips are great ways for you to take care of your fine gold jewelry on a daily basis. However, doing those things alone is not enough. We recommend having your jewelry professionally cleaned every six months and checked for loose prongs and damage annually.
WHAT TO CONSIDER BEFORE PURCHASING GOLD
If you don’t have many gold pieces in your wardrobe, you might want to brush up on your knowledge before purchasing any. What you should know: 24-karat gold isn’t all it’s cracked up to be: while the purity of 24-karat gold (99.99 percent pure) attracts many people, few realize that it’s too soft to be utilized in most jewelry.
Alloyed gold is more durable: To make gold stronger, 10-, 14-, and 18-karat golds are alloyed (mixed) with other metals.
Look for a quality mark: your gold should have a quality mark with the carat value on it, regardless of the quality you chose.
