Jewelry Care Tips

July 28th, 2020

The last few months in both my personal and professional life have been slightly chaotic and overwhelming, hence my silence on the Lambert Jewelers blog. BUT, I’m BACK with a lighthearted message that I hope is also practical. Many people might have extra time on their hands from working at home over the last few months so that might mean extra time to care for and sort your jewelry! That being said, I wanted to share some jewelry care tips that will keep your jewelry looking sparkly and new for years to come!

You bought your jewelry so you could wear it & show it off & enjoy it so don’t leave it locked up in a jewelry box, wear it! For Sterling Silver jewelry in particular, wearing it can actually lead to less tarnishing over time compared to leaving it sit in a jewelry box! You buy a car so you can see fun places with it and make memories but eventually it’ll need maintenance. Your jewelry is the same way! Wear it but eventually it’ll need maintenance.

Sterling Silver is more often than not mixed with other metals such as copper because pure Silver is too soft for jewelry. That being said, it will tarnish over time but there are some things you can do to slow the tarnishing process!

• Don’t wear your Silver jewelry when cleaning the house, getting in salt water or doing dishes. Cleaning agents and harsh chemicals can make it tarnish faster.
• Some people’s sweat, unfortunately, can react negatively to Silver and cause tarnishing faster as well. So don’t sweat with your silver jewelry on?? 😊
• Purchase Silver cleaning solution or a Silver polishing cloth to keep your Silver jewelry looking shiny! Both are available for purchase at our store.

Nothing is more precious than a diamond ring so follow these care tips to make it last a lifetime!

• If you apply lotion, take your diamond rings off, especially if you have extra space in your mounting. Lotion will get up in your ring and cause the diamond to look cloudy and no one wants a cloudy looking diamond!
• Again, if you come into contact with any harsh chemicals or chlorine, it won’t ruin your gold and diamond jewelry but it’s certainly not the best for it. A great solution is our silicone bands for things like house cleaning and swimming.
• A diamond is one of the hardest materials on the earth but it isn’t indestructible. If you’re lifting heavy furniture, lifting weights at the gym, playing sports or doing any other intense activity, it’s best to take your diamond rings off. If you’re worried about someone flirting with your girl at the gym, again, silicone bands are a great option to say “I’m taken!”
• Stop into Lambert Jewelers at least every 6 months for us to check your prongs and clean your diamond rings! Just like tires on a car, the prongs that hold our diamonds in place eventually wear and we don’t want any diamonds falling out so bring them in for us to make sure everything looks good! One knock of your ring, especially if you have smaller accent diamonds, can pop a diamond right out if it’s hit in just the right way!

White Gold, Rose Gold and Yellow Gold are the 3 main gold types and each require a different level of care.

• White Gold, while very popular, requires a treatment called Rhodium that keeps the ring looking shiny and bright! Typically a Rhodium treatment is required once a year but if your ring was originally Rose or Yellow gold, it could use the treatment every couple of months. White Gold used to be made with Nickel alloys that naturally kept the “white” look of the gold but it is no longer used as Nickel is a common allergen for many skin types. Our Rhodium services cost from $30-$35 per ring depending on the size.
• Rose and Yellow Gold should keep their shine but it’s always good to have gold jewelry cleaner for in between visits to our store! We have jars starting at $5.
• Remember to take your gold jewelry off when doing high-contact activities or swimming in Chlorine!

I still consider myself a newbie in the jewelry world but earrings and watches are DEFINITELY the most disgusting things that I’ve had to clean. And don’t worry, my earrings get gross too if I don’t take them out regularly (which I don’t) so it’s not you, it just happens. Take your earrings and watches off every once in a while and take a look at them. Our gold or silver jewelry cleaner can be used for earrings as well. Watches are harder to do at home but we’d be happy to clean and polish the inside and back cover of your watches!

There are several gemstones that are much softer than diamonds and should be treated with extra care including Emerald, onyx, pearls, opal, tanzanite, lapis lazuli and turquoise. We won’t put these gemstones in our ultrasonic cleaner because the heat and vibrations is likely to cause damage. Gently washing with soapy water is the best option for softer gemstones.

I hope this blog post helps you maintain gorgeous jewelry for years to come and if you run into any problems, we are here to help with our in-house goldsmith and awesome ultra-sonic cleaning machine!

Written by Carly Lambert

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