How Do You Clean Old Costume Jewelry?

Restore old costume jewelry to its original condition with gentle cleaning.

If you want to preserve old costume jewelry, practice care when cleaning it. Many vintage costume jewels feature rhinestones with foil backing; simply dunking these items in a jewelry cleaning solution will do more damage than good. In order to keep your vintage costume pieces in top condition, you must use alternative cleaning methods that involve less moisture and only mildly abrasive cleaning tools. Cleaning old costume jewelry in this manner does take time, but it's not difficult.

Things You'll Need

• Window cleaner
• Polishing cloth (untreated)
• Cotton swab
• Toothpick
• Treated polishing cloth
• Zippered pouch

Instructions

1. Spray a small amount of window cleaner onto a soft, clean cloth made from superfine cotton or microfiber. You should spray just enough to slightly dampen the cloth without making it too wet.

2. Gently rub the cloth over the costume jewelry to remove dust from the surface.

3. Dip one end of a cotton swab into some window cleaner and squeeze the swab to remove excess moisture. Use the prepared swab to clean dust from crevices and other harder-to-reach spots on your costume jewelry.

4. Remove built-up dust lodged in the costume jewelry's cracks or around rhinestone settings with a wooden toothpick. The toothpick will allow you to scrape out the dirt without scratching the costume jewelry's surface.

5. Clean tarnished costume jewelry with a treated polishing cloth. Gently rub over the tarnished area with the cloth; there's no need to dampen the cloth or spray it with window cleaner before using it because it's already impregnated with chemicals that remove tarnish.

6. Allow cleaned costume jewelry to dry for at least an hour before putting the items away.

7. Store your vintage costume jewelry in a zippered pouch with a soft lining. This will prevent your clean jewelry from collecting dust or sustaining scratches while the pieces are in storage. You should also keep old costume jewelry in a dry, cool place. The less humid the environment, the less likely it is that your costume jewelry will deteriorate while in storage.

Tips & Warnings

• In addition to using cotton swabs and toothpicks to remove dust from the harder-to-reach places on your costume jewelry, you can also use a soft-bristle toothbrush. Avoid using toothbrushes with stiffer bristles, as they may scratch the jewelry.

References

• Annie Sherman: Care Tips for Beautiful Vintage Costume Antique Jewelry

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Sunshine Polishing Cloth for Sterling Silver