How to Clean Enamel & Diamond Jewelry
No matter how careful you are, your jewelry picks up grease and grime on a daily basis. Mere contact with your skin, and the lotions, soaps and everyday items you handle at home and work contribute to buildup that eventually turns sparkling diamonds into dull stones. When cleaning it, always determine the weakest part of the jewelry and use the mildest cleaning method possible for that, so you do not scratch delicate stones and finishes. In this case, as diamonds are very hard, clean as if for enamel alone. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Large plastic bowl
- Fine nylon sieve (not metal)
- Mild dish detergent
- Soft toothbrush or artist's brush (unused)
- Distilled water (optional)
- Soft cotton cloths
Instructions
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Place the soiled jewelry in a fine-meshed nylon sieve in a large plastic bowl. (If you do this in the sink, make sure to put the stopper in so you do not lose any jewelry down the drain.)
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Add warm water and a few drops of a mild dish detergent to create sudsy water.
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3
Swish the sieve around in the water for one minute and then let everything soak for 10 minutes to loosen grime.
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4
Use a soft toothbrush or a new, unused artist's paintbrush, to clean in difficult-to-reach areas like chain links, under settings or decorative filigree.
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5
Rinse the clean jewelry under the tap (while still in the sieve and with stopper in place in the sink). If you have hard water, give jewelry a final rinse in distilled water to avoid spotting.
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6
Lay jewelry on a pad of soft cotton cloth to air dry. An old cloth diaper or t-shirt works well.
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Buff lightly with another, soft cloth after the jewelry is dry, to bring out the shine.
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Tips & Warnings
Between cleanings, wipe jewelry with a commercial jewelry cloth. They are lint free and impregnated with special cleaners to get the everyday dirt and oils off before storing.
Avoid harsh chemicals that can harm jewelry--chlorine is especially damaging (even to diamonds) and ammonia will damage enamels.
To protect it, take jewelry off when performing dirty chores like gardening, dish washing or anything that involves paints or harsh chemicals.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit jewelry image by Byron Moore from Fotolia.com
