Examine Your Jewelry

Primarily, you must check your precious jewelry as most of these jewelry have delicate styling, designs, and settings, that increase the risk of parts coming loose or for them to trap a lot of dirt. If there are problems with the setting, like a loose claw, you should talk to your jeweler.

Cleaning Diamond Jewelry

It's not the stone that’s in immediate danger – it’s the diamond’s setting. But, even the diamond can lose some of its gorgeous shine if it’s not regularly cleaned. The best mixture of cleaning solution for diamonds is ammonia or mild dish detergent with water. The ratio of this solution should be a quarter cup of ammonia to one cup of lukewarm water. After mixing the solution, simply let the piece of diamond jewelry soak in the solution for 20-30 minutes. Once this time is complete, gently brush the jewelry with a soft toothbrush to dislodge any dirt. Make sure to avoid brushing the diamond too vigorously to keep from dislodging the diamond from its setting. After this step, simply rinse off the solution and dirt and dry. Do not allow the piece to air-dry, as this process can leave unsightly hard water spots on your favorite diamond pieces.

Cleaning Gemstone Jewelry

In order to properly care for your gemstone jewelry, you should never assume that two gemstones are alike. As for detergents, mild dish soap is generally safe in cooler water for most gemstone pieces and most pieces of jewelry in general. The exception to this includes fine jewelry containing pearls. While gemstones are sturdier than pearls, they aren’t as sturdy as diamonds. As a result, even steaming your gemstone jewelry can be a risky cleaning option for some gemstones. Again, there are some exceptions to this rule. The stones that could benefit from steaming include alexandrite, aquamarine, rhodonite, ruby, and sapphire. While no cleaning solution is 100% safe for all gemstones, lint-free cleaning towels and cloths made from microfiber are safe on virtually any gemstone.

Polishing Gold

Whether you have white gold, rose gold, or yellow gold jewelry, cleaning procedures are the same for all three types of the lustrous metal. Standard commercial gold polishes will quickly and safely clean gold jewelry when applied with a soft chamois cloth. If your gold jewelry has begun to tarnish, simply soak the jewelry in this lukewarm water and dish soap mixture for a short time and gently rub the jewelry with a lint free cloth. This should immediately take the tarnish off of your jewelry. If the tarnish is more aggressive, an ultrasonic cleaning machine can also be used to good effect. However, these types of cleaning machines should be used sparingly if your gold jewelry has precious stones, as they can loosen the gemstones, pearls and other decorative items embedded in the gold. For plain gold items soiled with grease, a quick dip into a glass containing rubbing alcohol can undo the damage.

Platinum Jewelry Care

Platinum is one of the easiest fine metals to care for. Due to its strength, it is virtually immune to tarnish from discoloration. However, it is not immune to scratching from over-polishing. If you do scratch your platinum piece, please bring it in to Trijewel’s and one of our professional jewelers will re-polish your platinum jewelry item. In order to properly polish a platinum jewelry item at home, use lukewarm and mild dish soap and a chamois cloth. When polishing, gently rub so you avoid scratching your platinum piece. Unless the piece is heavily soiled, due to the sturdiness of platinum pieces, it’s enough to simply have your pieces professionally cleaned at Trijewel’s once or twice a year.