Gold Jewellery Care and Cleaning
Caring for Gold Jewellery has been needed since ancient times, magnificent pieces of jewellery have been created from gold, one of the most valuable metals on earth. When it comes to care for it, it doesn’t really matter whether the gold is yellow, white, or rose. The carat weight is crucial.
Types of Gold
Pure gold is 24 carat gold; additional metals have not been added. Although it is unquestionably gorgeous, it is also exceedingly soft and is only occasionally used to make jewelry. If you are fortunate enough to own jewelry made of 24 karat gold, we advise only wearing it under the safest of circumstances. Even a small impact can result in damage that would need to be repaired by a jeweler.
Cleaning your Gold Jewellery
Because it is one of the least reactive elements, gold has become increasingly popular in jewelry. As a result, it can be worn in touch with the skin for extended periods of time and won’t tarnish like silver or oxidize like iron. Your jewelry’s gold will be unaffected by air or moisture, although occasionally it could be essential to remove fingerprints or residue from a piece.
Typically, a soft cloth is enough to wipe oil or fingerprints off the surface of gold jewelry. Use warm water and a tiny amount of dishwashing liquid for harder residues. If a cloth is insufficient, you can use a toothbrush to reach areas of the piece that are more difficult to clean. To avoid any expensive mishaps, it is important to remember to plug the sink when cleaning jewelry over it.
It’s also critical to consider the additional components of a piece of jewelry. For instance, emeralds and opals are renowned for being delicate, therefore it’s crucial to preserve them while cleaning. For the same reason it’s best to avoid wet cleaning with lockets or any other piece with closed portions, older antique jewelry with closed-back gem settings should not be washed with water since the sealed areas can retain water and cause damage.
The aforementioned remedies might not always be sufficient to revitalize your gold jewelry. Commercial cleaning chemicals that are designed expressly to restore the sheen of precious metals are available, but they should always be used with caution. While many over-the-counter products work flawlessly with gold, they may not work as well with other materials and may even harm them. Similar to silver cloths, gold can be polished with silver cloths, although silver cloths may contain chemicals that shouldn’t come in contact with other precious materials. Always err on the side of caution when in doubt.
Professional Cleaning Services
Whilst the above methods are usually sufficient to keep your gold jewellery bright and clean there are circumstances where more drastic measures are needed. Given the value of gold jewellery we would strongly recommend that you seek out a qualified jeweller’s advice rather than attempting these methods on your own.
Professional polishing can rejuvenate an old piece of jewellery, however this process does strip a small amount of gold from the surface of the piece. This means it is unwise to repeat the process unless absolutely necessary as it can end up wearing away hallmarks or delicate engraving.
Ultrasonic cleaning, which uses concentrated soundwaves to disintegrate dirt and grime, is a service provided by some jewelers. Ultrasonics can have an astounding effect, but it’s crucial to make sure you’ve been given the go-ahead by a qualified jeweler because some older items, as well as some gemstones and other materials, might react quite negatively to this procedure. Nothing is more upsetting than attempting to clean a priceless item of jewelry only to have it disintegrate.
