Taking Care of your jewelry

Taking care of your jewelry especially your pearls is something really worth taking the time to do. Just a little water with a few drops of dishwashing liquid and a soft toothbrush is all you need to keep your pearl jewelry looking jewelry-store-fabulous. The act of simply wearing your pearl earrings and necklaces can also keep them looking brand new because of the oil in your skin (that in some cases be bad for costume jewelry) is good for your pearls because it helps maintain the shine on your pearl jewelry.

Keeping your jewelry in its original box is another cool way to keep your precious metal jewelry piece looking good for a long time and since precious metals don't play well together when it comes to storing them all in a jumble; you should avoid simply tossing all of your metal jewelry pieces into the same pile by not storing your precious metal jewelry in one box or pile to prevent tarnishing. The cleaner and dryer your jewelry storage space the better that's just one of the reasons storing your jewelry in its original box is so cool.

To remove tarnish from jewelry that does not have natural gemstones in them, I'm thinking about your sterling silver, gold chains, and other metal pieces, there are several over the counter ways to attack the tarnishing problem. Things, like polishing cloths, jewelry dips, and paste even a sonic jewelry cleaner, can all be purchased for the tarnish removal job. I prefer cleaning sterling silver or gold with baking soda because its quick, natural, easy and I usually have some in my kitchen.

The way I used to clean my gold chain with baking soda was to lay it out in a pie pan (any dish capable of holding hot water will do) I first, lined the pie pan with aluminum foil (the aluminum aides in the cleaning process) then stretched my chain out in the bottom of the aluminum covered pan. Coving the chain with a dusting of baking soda (equalling about one tablespoon) I poured in some boiling hot water (just enough to cover the chain) waited a few seconds and when over the chain with a soft toothbrush. The results was a noticeable increase in shine and after a freshwater rinse and a wipe dry, I was done. All the supplies I needed were: some baking soda, a soft toothbrush, a pie pan, and some aluminum foil.

I have never tried the above with costume jewelry so the results may be different. When it comes to costume jewelry you can protect your metal pieces by storing them in plastic bags. Sandwich plastic bags are okay to use; the key to helping to prevent tarnishing of costume jewelry is keeping it out of the air. Most costume jewelry exposed to air even the oil from your skin will tarnish.