General Care
To maintain the beauty of your jewelry, whether it's gold filled, solid gold or sterling silver always avoid salt water, chlorine. (swimming pools, jacuzzis) and all heavy detergents and cleaning agents. These harsh chemicals can damage all types of jewelry, so please remember to remove your jewelry before coming into contact with these substances.
Cleaning Gemstones
Gemstones are durable, yet they do need some care to maintain their luster. Follow these general guidelines and yours will look brand new for years to come.
You can clean transparent gemstones simply by soaking them in water with a touch of soap. Use a soft toothbrush to scrub the the stone. If the stone is electroplated in 14k gold or sterling silver use a soft cloth and gently clean stone. You do not want to harm the electroplating so be gentle.
Never use an ultrasonic clean or ammonia for cleaning porous gemstones like lapis, turquoise, malachite, opal or onyx. They should be gently wiped clean with a moist cloth.
These gemstones will absorb chemicals like soap, which can build up inside the stone and discolor it.
Organic gems like pearls, coral, and amber should only be wiped with a moist cloth. Due to their organic nature, these gems are both soft and porous. Be careful with hairspray, cosmetics and perfume. The chemicals in those products can can permanently damage organic gems (especially pearls) over time.
Cleaning 14K Gold Filled
14K Gold Filled is highly tarnish resistant, however sweat, lotions, perfumes, and normal wear can dampen it's beautiful gold shine. Fortunately, gold filled jewelry is easy to clean. All you need is a jewelry cleaning cloth made for polishing gold, which has a chemical that removes dirt, grime, and tarnish. We have clothes available here for sale.
Sterling Silver
Sterling silver is a precious metal that jewelers have used for thousands of years. Sterling silver has one issue- it is prone to tarnishing. To clean the tarnish from your sterling silver give it a quick dip in a silver cleaning solution such as Tarn-ex or eco-friendly Simple Shine.You can also use a silver polishing cloth to help bring back the luster and clean everyday dirt and grime from sterling silver jewelry.
DO NOT use a cleaning solution on Gold Filled jewelry, as it can permanently damage the gold.