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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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At times we see platinum that has been rhodium-coated to ensure a mirror polish finish. The rhodium coating on modern jewelry is extremely thin. At times as thin as 1/1000 the thickness of a single sheet of paper. When rhodium is properly applied, it forms a durable finish. But even properly applied rhodium coatings do wear. Evidence of wear includes reduced brilliance and the appearance of the underlying precious metal.
Typically, rhodium coated jewelry must be re-coated by a jeweler every 3 - 12 months. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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| It is important to store various jewelry pieces separately from each other. To protect platinum jewelry while in storage, we recommend placing them in a soft protective GemPouch. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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Hairspray is the #1 contaminant affecting the beauty and brilliance of fine platinum jewelry. When the solvents in hairspray evaporate, it leaves a sticky residue on platinum that traps dust in the air to the jewelry surface.
Evidence of hairspray includes a gray/white residue in non-wear areas. Gemstones will appear to have feathers or a light haze. Over time, hairspray residue can be very difficult to remove.
For those who wear their jewelry when applying makeup and hairspray, we recommend cleaning platinum jewelry every 3-4 days. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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| Keep bleach and household products containing chlorine away from Gold Jewelry. Chlorine can weaken gold alloys and turn gold jewelry brittle. For gold fashion jewelry, chlorine can lead to flaking and deterioration of the gold plate. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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Regularly inspect your gold jewelry for signs of weakness or damage. We recommend checking the security of gold gemstones settings within the first 3 months, and then every 6 months after. Missing or damaged settings are the leading cause of lost gemstones.
Most jewelers will inspect a jewelry item for damage while you wait, and without charge. Please feel free to contact us for assistance in selecting a trusted jeweler in your area. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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| It is important to store various jewelry pieces separately from each other to prevent scratching and damage. To protect gold jewelry while in storage, we recommend placing them in a soft protective GemPouch. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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Silver tarnish removers in the form of abrasive pastes, and commercial dip silver cleaners smell bad, are messy, and most work by etching the surface. Each micro-pit caused by the etching process becomes a collection point for contaminants requiring more intense and even more frequent cleanings to maintain a satisfactory luster.
To remove the brown/black tarnish associated with silver, we recommend first using a gentle silver cleaner such as SparkleSparkle™ Silver to clean and brighten the metal surface. Remove the dark brown/black silver sulfide tarnish using a soft polishing cloth similar to the Sunshine Cloth or the inexpensive SparkleSparkle™ UltraCloth. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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Avoid permanent damage to delicate jewelry with a few simple rules.
-Keep delicate and fashion jewelry away from heat, or storage in direct sunlight.
-Avoid bleach, ammonia, and alcohol based cleaners.
-Kitchen and bathroom cleaners are much too aggressive for delicate jewelry.
-Store jewelry with delicate gemstones separately from diamond jewelry to avoid stratches.
-Use SparkleSparkle™ Delicate cleaner to rekindle the sparkle in delicate jewelry and gemstones. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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| When dressing, apply cosmetics, hair spray, and perfume before wearing jewelry. Modern cosmetics can be damaging to fashion and faux jewelry. Hairspray will cause crystal and gemstone jewelry to look lifeless, and dull. Rekindle the Sparkle with a jewelry cleaner developed for cleaning delicate jewelry. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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| Inspect fashion and delicate jewelry every 3-6 months. Check for signs of wear in the metal, loose gemstones, and damaged settings. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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| Avoid placing fashion jewelry in an ultrasonic cleaner. This style of cleaner and the solutions sold with them can be very aggressive to silver and gold plating. Traditional dip-solution jewelry cleaners should also be avoided. Many contain harsh chemicals that will attack solders and glue used in fashion jewelry leading to possible damage and discoloration. In addition, all dip-solution jewelry cleaners become increasingly contaminated with each jewelry cleaning. These contaminants will leave a residue on jewelry being cleaned - requiring more, and more frequent cleanings. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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| To prevent pearls and pearl jewelry from being scratched or damaged while traveling, we recommend protecting pieces in a soft protective GemPouch. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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| Before you begin cleaning any silver pieces - from jewelry to flatware - it's important to understand how silver reacts to substances and methods. Certain materials will damage silver. Vinegar and acidic juices tend to stain silver dark - depending on the quality of silver, this can be extremely difficult to remove.
Generally speaking it is good to avoid scrubbing silver with abrasive materials or scrubbing too hard. Silver can scratch and wear away. Always be gentle with your silver - it's better to have tarnish take a little longer to remove than have your silver removed along with it!
We recommend using an Ultracloth to buff out surface staining - with a gentle touch - on silver plate and solid silver jewelry. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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| Inspect strings of pearls every 6-12 months. Check for signs of wear between pearls, and at knots in the silk. The knots help keep pearls from rubbing against each other. They also prevent the loss of pearls if the string should break. At the sign of wear, or every 2 to 3 years, we recommend taking your pearls back to the jeweler for restringing. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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Pearls should be put on after makeup and the use of hairspray. Cosmetics and hairspray can dull pearls and damage the silk used to hold pearl necklaces or bracelets together.
SparkleSparkle™ Pearl is formulated to be extra gentle on pearl and delicate jewelry. We recommend a light application of SparkleSparkle™ Pearl followed by a quick rinse in lukewarm water, dry with a soft non-abrasive cloth. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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| Keep pearls away from vinegar (this includes salad dressing). Even a very small amount of vinegar (acetic acid) will act aggressively to dissolve a pearl. If vinegar comes in contact with your pearl jewelry, it is important to rinse them quickly, under gently running water to minimize any damage |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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Avoid placing pearl jewelry in an ultrasonic cleaner or soaking in a dip-style jewelry cleaning solution. Most dip cleaners contain harsh chemicals that are too aggressive for pearls - leading to permanent dulling of the delicate nacre. Soaking can also strip the natural moisture from pearls leading to further damage.
We recommend a light application of delicate jewelry cleaner formulated for use on pearls followed by a quick rinse in lukewarm water. To dry, simply pat pearl jewelry with a soft non-abrasive cloth. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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Selecting the right ultrasonic cleaning machine can be a frustrating experience. Here are some basic things to look for in a quality machine that will deliver years of performance:
- Choose and ultrasonic machine with all-metal construction.
- For reduced cleaning time and higher efficiency, purchase a machine with a heater.
- Add a jewelry basket (if its not included) to keep jewelry and tools from touching the bottom and sides of the ultrasonic tank.
- Choose a size large enough to hold all of the jewelry you want to clean at one time without allowing them to touch eachother. For ultrasonics used in a home, we recommend a size between 1 and 2 litres.
- Ultrasonics that sweep through a range of frequencies (38.5-41.5kHz) offer consistent cleaning anywhere in the tank. Single frequency units cost less, but have areas where cleaning will take much longer (resulting from standing waves).
- Degas is a helpful feature to eliminate air bubbles trapped in the solution for units that are turned on and off. However, running the ultrasonic for 5 extra minutes will have the same effect.
- Tank should be made of stainless steel with an anti-cavitation finish.
- Any ultrasonic tanks larger than 1/2 gallon (2 litres) should come with a drain port.
- Last, it is important to select the right cleaning solution for your application. If you need assistance, please contact one of our ultrasonic cleaning specialists at 1-800-535-4980. |
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Jewelry Care Tip of the Week |
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| Adding a pre-treatment step to ultrasonic cleaning will dramatically reduce ultrasonic cleaning time. Ultrasonic cleaners require sound waves to reflect off the surface of hard objects. Lotions and contaminants on the jewelry surface absorb the sound wave resulting in a weaker "bounce" and less efficient cleaning. Use of an Ultrasonic Pretreatment ensures sound wave "bounce" for faster professional quality cleaning results. |
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