الأربعاء، 15 مايو 2013

Oxidised Jewellery and the Right Way to Clean It

By Anita Hale


This is a jewellery cleaning guide for all you jewellery lovers out there. If you've spend a lot of money on a ring or bracelet you will want to keep it looking as good as new. Continue reading for some trouble-free guidelines on ways to maintain your rings, bracelets and necklaces.

Firstly, nearly all jewellery will be affected from wear and tear during its lifespan. Unfortunately it's an inescapable fact. Nevertheless you can markedly minimize this exposure by choosing wisely when to wear your jewellery. By way of example, never wear bracelets and rings to bed. This is because they could easily get marked as you toss and turn in your sleep. Also remember that perspiration can lead to discolouration of key metals. This is the number one reason why you ought to avoid wearing jewellery when playing sport. Various other agents you need to keep separate from your jewellery can be found in hairspray, nail polish remover and perfume. Avoid directly exposing your jewellery to these.

Now let's have a look at oxidised metal. This blackened metal is becoming significantly fashionable in jewellery use. But it does require special care in order to maintain the darkened impression created by the oxidation. For that reason, keep oxidised jewellery away from chlorine. In fact, all gold and silver jewellery can be damaged by chlorine, so be careful! Furthermore, never clean oxidised metal with silver polish as this will ruin the black effect. The same rule applies to pearls.

Oxidation generates tarnishing and staining in metal. Metals that have not been oxidised require their own special treatment to stop this from occurring. For instance, you can find harmful sulphur compounds in certain kinds of flooring, salad dressing and even cigarette smoke. These compounds can generate tarnishing and so you must try and reduce your jewellery coming into direct contact with them.

If your silver jewellery does get tarnished you can use silver polishing liquid to remove it. But don't use too much as it is very abrasive and can sometimes make the problem worse. For routine cleaning you can just use a polishing cloth for silver. And if you're trying to clean off dirt then nothing beats soapy water and a toothbrush. It might sound daft, but toothbrushes are excellent for cleaning little intricate pieces of jewellery.

To finish, it's worth mentioning that purer metals are far less scratch resistant due to their softness. For instance, high quality gold is very soft and prone to marking. Those that are less pure are mixed with a larger density of alloys. This consequently renders them harder and more solid. This is why you should never where mixed metals next to each other. It would be very easy for a cheap ring to scratch a lovely gold ring on the finger next to it.




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