Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cleaning and jewelry

How do I care for sterling silver jewelry?

peanut_mcgillicuty — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:36:22 -0800

How do I take care of sterling silver jewelry? I feel dumb that I don't know how to do this, but I have no idea how to take care of jewelry. My family does not wear any for religious reasons, so I've never seen how it's supposed to be stored or cleaned.

I mostly own costume jewelry, but I have a number of pieces of sterling silver jewelry, most of which is from SilverJewelryClub.com. Some of the pieces are tarnished and dirty, but not all of them, and there's no rhyme or reason--it's not the pieces I wear the most that look tarnished, nor the pieces I wear the least. Some of the pieces are just as bright and shiny as the day I bought them.

All the pieces are less than five years old. I keep all my jewelry in a clean old makeup case which was never used for storing makeup, so doesn't have any residue in it. I never wear the jewelry swimming or in the shower and don't sleep in it. I hang the necklaces so they don't get tangled, and toss rings and earrings into the box of the case, which is lined with cloth. It is open to the air, so could be getting dusty, I suppose. The room is not especially humid nor especially dry.

I used an aluminum foil/baking soda/hot water mixture to clean and brighten some of the pieces a few weeks ago, which made a difference but some of them still look just, well, old and dirty. I've done some reading online about how to care for jewelry, but I'm looking for realistic advice--I'm not going to wipe down my jewelry with a special cloth every time I take it off, or store it in a special jewelry chest with velvet linings or anything like that. That's not really how people live, right?

So. Am I being unrealistic and sterling silver jewelry really does need that level of care? Or are the pieces with the problems more likely just junk? Or am I doing something else wrong?

How to bring back the shine to a malachite inlayed sterling silver bracelet?

burntflowers — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 21:48:30 -0800

How can I remove serious tarnish from a silver bangle. Difficulty level: malachite inlay. Today, I found what could be a gorgeous silver bangle with malachite inlays. Since malachite is easily damaged, I can't use a tarnish removing dip to shine up this piece of jewelry.

Any advice on how to get the silver shining without discoloring or damaging the malachite would be most appreciated.

Will acetone nail polish remover damage gold?

librarianamy — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:44:37 -0800

Removing nail polish from a diamond & white gold engagement ring? Asking for a friend - she was painting her nails with a dark red Sephora brand nail polish, and got some on her engagement ring. The ring is 14K white gold, and the polish is dried and on the part where the little diamonds and metal meet. She's already tried store bought jewelry cleaner and it's just made the rest of the ring sparkly. Googling brings up information on removing nail polish in general, and using clear polish to prevent tarnish on cheap jewelry. Would using regular acetone polish remover damage the metal? If it would cause damage, are there other in-house options?

Thanks!

Help me keep it clean!

6:1 — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 09:32:54 -0800

Anyone have first hand experience with ultrasonic cleaners that they purchased for jewelry and eyeglass cleaning? We will use it for other things, but this would be it's primary use, (watchbands, rope chains, silver, etc.). I've checked reviews, and it seems many machines don't do a thorough job.

I want a heavy-duty one that works. Any recommendations? What makes an ultrasonic cleaner good? Frequency? Energy waves? Size? Stainless steel basket? The word "Professional" in the description?

Tips for cleaning sterling silver jewelry?

zembla3 — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 15:12:20 -0800

I've been cleaning some sterling silver necklaces with a jewelry polishing cloth. The necklaces now seem clean, but there is still a lot of black stuff coming off on the cloth, no matter how long I scrub the necklaces with it. Why is this?

LA Jewelers for Resizing

rio — Sun, 18 Jul 2004 11:02:25 -0800

Jewelry Question: I would like to get my engagement ring cleaned and resized smaller. I'm worried about this because I've heard stories of jewelers taking the ring from you to the "back" to do the work, but then exchanging the diamonds for lower quality stones. Also, it doesn't need a major resize...it's just large enough to annoy me (keeps turning around on my finger, for example), but it won't fall off by itself. There are SO many listings for jewelers -- I feel like its like finding a good mechanic -- difficult, and better if you can get a recommendation. Can anyone recommend a jeweler (in the Los Angeles area) that they trust and had a good experience/history with? Is it a bad idea to resize a platinum ring with diamonds in it to a slightly smaller size? [Oh--and I don't want to go back to where the ring was purchased.]