Have you ever considered buying a new jewelry piece to match a particular item of clothing, or to give your overall style a little oomph? Perhaps you want to pick out a present for a friend. Whatever your needs, you will be helped by the advice given in this article.
Take a polishing cloth to each piece of jewelry in your collection. With this method, you can simply shine it up and not deal with the hassle of using cleaners. It’s easy, just use the dual-sided cloth to wipe down your jewelry, just as you would polish a beautiful glass. One side is designed to polish, and the other is used to make the piece shine.
Do not use harsh chemicals such as ammonia, bleach, turpentine or acetone to clean them. This can cause your stones to turn and dull in color, along with eating away any enamel on the pieces.
Don’t keep your jewelry in open air or someplace with a lot of humidity. For maximum protection you can choose to store them inside of a small drawstring or a closed jewelry box. Air and humidity can tarnish metals of all types. Precious metals, through some work and polish, can be restored to their original condition. Non-precious metals are coated, which means that polishing will allow copper metal to come through.
When storing your jewelry, be sure that you store it in a place with low humidity and free of open air. Store jewelry in a sealed box or drawstring pouch for the best protection. Humidity and air tends to cause precious and non-precious metals to tarnish. It’s possible to restore precious metals through polishing, but lesser-quality metals may suffer permanent damage.
Knowing what type of jewel you are buying when you purchase jewelry is very important. There are different types of gems, including imitation, natural and lab produced. Synthetic stones are lab created jewels, while imitation stones are normally colored glass. Natural gems are those that are actually from the earth, whereas synthetic ones are made in labs.
Sterling Silver
When purchasing jewelry from a respected jeweler, inquire as to whether they offer an insurance policy. If something happened to your jewelery, you can take it back and see if they will fix it! In some instances, you can even insure your jewelry against loss or theft.
To distinguish between real and fake, bring a magnet when you shop for sterling silver jewelry. Jewelry made with non-precious metals will be attracted to the magnet, revealing any fakes. In addition, sterling silver pieces are always stamped with silver hallmarks indicating such factors as the degree of purity, the manufacturer’s symbol, and the date of manufacture. Some of the most common hallmarks are “925, “ster,” “sterling,” and “sterling silver.” If there is no hallmark, watch its authenticity since it may be fake.
When you are looking for jewelry to purchase, give careful thought to the stones you prefer. Certain stones will do a better job of complementing your skin tone and your personality than others. If you choose a neutral color it will match anything you wear. Do not buy something that looks nice on the shelf but that you will never use.
You should expect good jewelry to last the rest of your life, and possibly beyond. When choosing jewelry, you should always buy from a reputable store or dealer, in order to ensure you only get high-quality pieces. You should be able to notice a quality piece by its craftsmanship. The jeweler should tell you about who made the piece and the origin of the stones. When you choose a piece of jewelry that is high in quality, it can become a heirloom that will last forever.
Costume jewelry needs special care. Costume settings are often glued-in as compared to set-in. Keep your costume jewelery away from water or chemicals. The best care is to wipe with a warm damp cloth and then dry with another cloth. Done regularly, this process will keep your costume jewelry looking great.
When you are shopping for diamonds, there are ways to compare the stones. Take a good look at all the pieces that you like, examining them and comparing them to each other. Don’t fall for any of the tricks used by shady dealers. They employ these tactics to make a diamond look better than it really is.
Before you buy, ask the jeweler if and how the gemstone was treated. The type of care required will differ depending on the kind of treatment. You don’t want to clean them with a type of solution that could strip the treatment or damage the gem.
You now have some new, excellent advice concerning jewelry. As a result, you can have more confidence in selecting high-quality pieces, including diamonds, gemstones, beads and metals. The investment that you make now in a quality-piece will be something to be proud of and enjoy for years to come.
A small but well-cut diamond with high clarity can look nicer than a bigger diamond of lower quality. Also, remember the person’s personality who will be receiving the diamond.