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Jewelry is wonderful but easily damaged. Try to protect any jewelry from scratches, sharp blows, harsh chemicals, extreme temperatures and sunlight, and follow tips below:
1.storage
- Store jewelry separately so it doesn't scratch other jewelry.
- Avoid storing your jewelry next to a heating vent, window sill or on a car dashboard.
- Store jewelry away from sunlight as the sun may fade the gemstones.
- Always store bead necklaces (such as lapis, pearls, etc) flat as silk stretches over time.
- Sterling silver jewelry will polish up by rubbing or buffing it with a soft cotton cloth or a Sunshine Cloth. If you store silver jewelry in plastic bags with an interlocking seal, it will be less prone to tarnish.
2.cleaning
When cleaning sterling silver remember that it is a very soft metal and can easily be marred by a fingernail or wadded piece of fabric pushed roughly against the metal surface. For this reason, use one of the following methods to clean heavier soils and tarnish:
- To remove fingerprints, light grease or dirt, add a small amount of mild liquid soap to a half cup of warm water, soak 2-3 minutes, rinse thoroughly with clean water and dry completely before storing in an air tight plastic bag.
- Be very careful when using any soaking method to clean jewelry that has soft stones such as amber, lapis lazuli, or turquoise. Extended soaking in any solution may harm the polish on the stone. Never use chlorine bleach to clean jewelry.
- To remove excessive tarnish, polish with a 100% cotton cloth and a good nonabrasive metal cleaner. Be sure to remove any remnants of the cleaner from gemstones and rinse thoroughly with clean water. Never use toothpaste!
3. More Attention
When doing household tasks such as gardening and cleaning, be certain to remove rings.
- Put your jewelry on after washing and applying any makeup/hair spray.
- Take off jewelry before swimming in a swimming pool. The chlorine can cause damage to various gemstones and gold. Gemstones may become loose in their settings (and possibly fall out).
- Before doing high impact sports take off your jewelry as you may scratch the metal or chip the gemstones.
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