Whether it is a gift from someone or a little something for yourself, we all want our jewellery looking as gleaming and pristine as the first day we wore it.

Through daily wear, your rings,necklaces and other pieces can be subject to dirt, grease, dust and fingerprints, which can cause them to lose their original charm. Even jewellery stored away can gather dust and develop tarnished if not given the appropriate amount of cleaning it needs.

Unfortunately, cleaning jewellery isn’t the most exciting task which is why it is often put off. You might also be put off giving your jewellery a deep clean because you’re afraid that it could change the quality of the stone. This isn’t the case - in fact, the build-up of dirt and grime can lead to long-term damage of your jewellery, which is why we recommend an annual clean from a professional jeweller.

When you want to keep up with regular maintenance in-between getting them professionally cleaned, there are ways to do this easily and safely from the comfort from your own home. Read on to find out how you can clean your silver, gold, diamond and other precious jewellery items at home.

How Do I Know If I Need to Clean My Jewellery?

Unsure on whether or not your engagement ring or another piece of jewellery needs a clean? Below are just some of the things you can look out for:

• The gemstone appears to be cloudy, and light does not reflect properly off it
• Your jewellery may have a yellow/brown tint that is inconsistent with its actual colour
• A tarnish/film develops on the surface

How to Clean Your Jewellery at Home

So, you’ve noticed that your jewellery is exhibiting some of the signs that we discussed in the section above - now what?

Unable to get to a jeweller for a professional clean? You can make a gentle cleaning solution with some common household products. What you can and can’t use will depend on the type of gemstone. Some gemstones are more porous than others, such as pearls, whilst platinum is less permeable.

How to Clean Diamond Jewellery

Something worth keeping in mind is that diamonds have a natural affinity to being attracted to grease and dirt. Making a simple cleaning solution at home might be able to help your diamonds from becoming lacklustre if you are unable to get it professionally cleaned.

Step one: Pour warm water into a bowl and add any gentle dish soap/washing up liquid to it. Give it a mix.

Step two: Submerge your diamonds into the mild solution. You can keep it in there for as long as you want, but half an hour should do the trick.

Step three: Take out your diamond jewellery, then get a soft brush and gently brush away any dirt and dust in and around it. If you are cleaning an engagement ring, for example, be sure to get under the stone and the underside of the ring to get any hidden residue off.

Step four: Clean your ring in another bowl of warm water to rinse the dish soap off.

Step five: Finally, get a lint-free microfiber cloth and dry your jewellery. You can also use a hairdryer on a low heat setting to avoid watermarks.

Ensure the cloth you dry each piece with is lint-free so that the fibres don’t stick to your jewellery.

How to Clean Silver Jewellery

Over time, sterling silver jewellery can develop a dark, grimey film known as tarnish on its surface which can cause it to lose its original charm. But why does this happen? The reason behind this unsightly tarnish is due to the metal reacting with oxygen and sulphur.

This grimey surface can naturally develop even if you are properly caring for your silver pieces, so don’t be shocked.

The good news is that you can safely clean tarnish off your sterling silver jewellery. Here’s how:

• Step one: Add some dish soap and a tiny amount of ammonia to a pot of warm water.
• Step two: Immerse your sterling silver jewellery into it - you can leave it in there for as long as you want, but anything between five to fifteen minutes should do depending on how much you have.
• Step three: By now, the tarnish on the jewellery should have loosened. You can now start gently brushing the surface with a soft toothbrush. Don’t forget the undersides and crevices where grease and lotions can accumulate!
• Step four: Wash the solution off with warm water and use a microfiber cloth or hair dryer at a low heat setting to dry everything off.

How to Clean Gold Jewellery

24 carat gold is the purest form of gold. Anything lower than this means that the gold jewellery is likely to be mixed with other metals, like silver and copper. If your jewellery is plain gold, add a small amount of ammonia with your dish soap and warm water and dip it in for at least five minutes. Use a soft toothbrush to gently brush the loosened dirt from in and around the jewellery.

How to Clean Other Precious Gemstones

Softer gemstones such as pearls, emeralds and opals can also be cleaned with the solution above, but be sure to skip the ammonia. Also be aware that these stones are very porous so submerging them from hot water and then straight into cold water can cause them to crack.

Maintaining Your Jewellery: Our Top Tips

Now that you have cleaned your jewellery and the shine has returned, how can you help to keep it that way?

• Touch the jewellery as minimally as possible - Our hands naturally have oils on them which can easily be transferred to the rings. Fingerprints and grease from cosmetics can also accumulate onto the surface. To take a ring off, just pinch the side to slide off.
• Avoid wearing when in the shower - Hard water can cause a film to develop on the surface of your jewellery, so remember to remove it when bathing.
• This also goes for when you are exercising. Sweat can also stain your jewellery - be sure to take them off when you are at the gym too.
• Washing your hands - Residue from soaps can also build up on jewellery, so be sure to take off any rings before you wash your hands.
• Store your jewellery properly - Although diamonds are durable, it is true that the only thing that can scratch a diamond, is another diamond, so store your diamond jewellery pieces away from each other.
• Avoid an Excess of Direct Sunlight - Ensure you aren’t leaving any jewellery in windows where direct sunlight can damage them.

What to Avoid When Cleaning Jewellery

There is a barrage of DIY guides out there that promise to get your gems and jewels looking the way you first got them. Do be wary of ones that use harsh chemicals - although good quality jewellery is built to last, corrosive agents can potentially permanently damage gemstones. Some tutorials also suggest dipping your jewellery in cleaning solutions using boiling water, but this is also a recipe for disaster as the heat may loosen or damage some stones.

That’s certainly not what you want to do if you are cleaning something like an engagement ring or a family heirloom!

Here are some common DIY cleaning agents you should avoid using when cleaning your gold, silver or diamond jewellery:

• Hydrogen peroxide, chlorine and acetone - These are bleaching agents commonly found in hair dye and household cleaning products. Strong concentrations of this can discolour your jewellery so it is best to avoid contact.
• Vinegar - The acidity of your standard distilled white vinegar measures at around 2.4 on the pH scale - this could potentially erode the metal if exposed to it for long enough.
• Baking soda - The abrasive nature of baking soda means that it can cause scratches on the surface of your jewellery, and you probably won’t be able to reverse the damage without a professional polish.
• Toothpaste - Toothpastes can also be abrasive as some contain granules. Abrasive cleaning products can not only cause scratches but can potentially loosen the gemstones.

Ensuring that you keep up with the maintenance of your jewellery when it comes to cleaning them is essential to increasing its longevity and practising good hygiene. We recommend an annual clean from a professional jeweller, and would be happy to repair, re-plate and polish your jewellery for you, too.

Contact us today to get your jewellery looking as good as new today on:

☎ 01923 779325

✉ info@robertharrisjewellers.co.uk